In Capital City
by Xenonmon
Summary: Saren and Nihlus develop a device that can transport them back in time - to the year 2012 in Earth's biggest city: Capital City. They promptly lose it, stranding them in this time. Saren goes his own way and Nihlus is left to fend for himself in this giant, gleaming ultra-mega-city - that is until he meets someone new and experiences a new hell. M rating for certain scenes...


Sorry if I get some details wrong, I'm still learning. PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE ARE SOME SUGGESTIVE THEMES IN THIS STORY. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, THEN DON'T READ OR COMMENT ABOUT IT! Plus this story is quite long. For the first chapter!

**Summary:**

Saren and Nihlus develop some kind of time travel device back on The Citadel. They manage to actually get it to work and transport them to Earth's biggest city at 209,804 square Kilometers and 71 million people, Capital City, April 27, 2012. The time machine is promptly lost, Saren storms off in a furious rage and Nihlus meets the most gorgeous human female he has ever seen…

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One piece, one transistor in place. Saren nimbly used the tips of his claws to place each sensitive electronic down on the credit card sized circuit board. One by one, he snapped the microchips into their slots and soldered down specific pieces. The device was nearing completion; all it required now was a flashy case. That was Nihlus' job to supply. Saren had sent him off to look through the piles of scrap they salvaged from one of the small junkyards on The Citadel. That was 10 minutes ago, however, Saren wasn't worried. He worries about nothing. He only sat there, processing the device and how it was going to work. He'd have to hook it up to a data pad and complete the software work. When complete, the device would set whoever touches it to whatever year they so desired. Why was he doing this? He didn't know. It was Nihlus' idea.

Saren attached the OLED screen discreetly to the board so that it would be a compact, sleek touchscreen interface. The screen was paper-thin and transparent, about three inches diagonally and had a pixel ratio of 1680 by 1050, making the pixels invisible and the display so sharp that it may cut the viewer's eyes. Saren would've installed a holographic touchscreen to it, however, he couldn't obtain one for less than 50 credits. He would've stolen one, however, if the Batarian clerk at the shop didn't have guards and several heavy assault weapons that he could have quickly wielded and shot him down.

The screen was now stuck in place, positioned against a thin piece of steel to keep it propped up. Saren wondered when Nihlus would ever arrive with what could be used as a case for the device. He pulled up his Omni tool. He selected the vid-chat feature and implemented Nihlus' contact information. The Omni tool impatiently waited for the recipient to pick up on the other end.

'Spirits he'd better answer soon or I'll have him in a chokehold!' Saren viciously thought, barring his teeth slightly at the sight of the Omni tool still waiting. Saren could be patient if the situation was dire enough, but this wasn't dire. Saren's temper was beginning to flare up.

The garage's entrance flew open, flying off it's rusty hinges. Nihlus burst in, carrying something sleekly designed, but apparently very, very old. Nihlus' mandibles were spread apart in the biggest Turian smile ever, promptly setting off Saren. Saren lurched at him, grabbing the object from Nihlus' hands and running off with it to the workbench.

"Take it easy, you hot-head! I found a really old cellphone case and bezel at the junkyard. It looks like an old Earth device. I'd say from around the year 2011 on Earth?" Nihlus quickly and excitedly explained. It had taken him a while to find it, and was more enthusiastic than ever. To tell you the truth, Nihlus was extremely laid back and easy going, whereas Saren was very much the opposite. Nihlus was always looking for ways to cheer him up, though to no avail.

"Yeah? What's it to you? It doesn't matter anyways, I'm nearing completion on the device." Saren turned his head back and focused his eyes on the device and the casing Nihlus found, hearing Nihlus walk over to him, and have him snatch the case from him.

"No, look!" Nihlus turned the casing over. The black paint had been chipped away at, but the logos were still visible and eligible. "It looks like one of Apple's first iPhones!" Nihlus handed the iPhone back to Saren, who immediately began to pry open the sides of it with his claws. He took the silver bumper off and took apart the front and back pieces, finding heavily corroded and non-working electronics inside. Saren hastily and generally ripped the parts out and tossed them back, leaving them strewn across a few empty crates against the wall.

"You're welcome." Nihlus chuckled, pulling up a crate to sit down next to Saren. He propped his chin up by resting his elbows on the workbench and placing his head down onto his hands. Nihlus fixed his eyes on Saren's hands as they fiddled about and completed the device. Nihlus watched as Saren concluded the screen's fixture and began placing the parts into the old iPhone case.

"iPhones were really thick back then. Apple's new iPhone is just a thin little holographic box about the size of my smallest finger." Nihlus reminisced, pulling his iPhone out, looking at it. It was like a little elongated Backspace key, which was about two millimeters thick. Nihlus pressed the single button, the home button, and a whole clear and crisp holographic touchscreen illuminated. He browsed the homescreen, swiping the screen to the side. "I think that iPhone was one of the 64GB models. How technology has changed over the times, my new iPhone has one terabyte of storage!"

"Nihlus, we don't really care all that much about your devices. You are still forgetting that Apple lags behind with hardware. They still only use their 300-gigahertz processors whereas everyone else uses processors that go well beyond five Terahertz." Saren placed his hand over Nihlus' device, shutting it off and continued the final stages of the device he was making.

"Jeez Saren, don't have to be such a downer all the time. You just need to have some time to cool down." Nihlus placed his hand on Saren's left shoulder, who then proceeded to swipe Nihlus' hand back off again.

"Nihlus, nobody ever loves me which I use to my advantage. You don't seem to realize that I enjoy my solitude. I work alone, and when I need a helping hand, I'll talk to you. I don't mentor you anymore. But right now, you are distracting me." Saren concluded. He kept his eyes to himself, feeling Nihlus' eyes resting upon him. It was true in every sense that very few people really found Saren congenial and even fewer adored him. It wasn't a problem though. Saren just didn't know how to give back. He only knew how to get work done and that's all he did. As a matter of fact, Saren didn't see any point in having an intimate relationship. He merely thought of it as a waste of his time where he could be doing something productive.

Nihlus attempted to draw Saren in close by wrapping one arm around him and bringing his face nearer. Nihlus' attempts failed, however when a faint growl emitted from Saren's throat. Nihlus backed off.

"I think you need to loosen up a bit. You're always so tensed up, so into your assignment or whatever it is that you are doing. Maybe that's why you are always so irritable. I think that maybe it would help you to know that I'm not the only one who finds you attractive." Nihlus spoke out, causing Saren to stop his current task and look him dead in the eyes.

"Nihlus, you are pushing my limits. If you want me to loosen up, go and sit in that corner and don't talk to me unless it is important. As a matter of fact, don't even remotely think about me." Saren shoved Nihlus down into the direction he described. The sound of a low flying shuttle rumbled the small abandoned garage that Nihlus and Saren occupied in the development of their new device. Nihlus turned around and walked to the corner, but stopped just before he reached it.

"You know Saren, if you need to, you can always come to me."

Nihlus sat in the corner, just about ready to doze off. All kinds of thoughts flooded his mind. Thoughts about Saren, the device, what was going to happen, what he would have for breakfast, and so on and so forth.

"Nihlus!" Saren's not-so-distant voice brought Nihlus back to full consciousness and attentiveness to the sight of Saren's face right up in his.

"Saren? Are you willing to talk to me now?"

"No. The device is now in working order. Do you wish to test it out?" Saren held out the device for Nihlus, who grabbed it, and eyed it in confusion.

"How do I turn it on?"

"Touch the screen, and it should respond with a date input."

Nihlus did as instructed and the screen flickered on. It displayed three boxes, two identically sized and the last one elongated for a four-character input. Nihlus tapped one of the boxes and a number pad popped up.

"Type the Earth month. It is in numeric notation." Saren pointed to the first box, and Nihlus tapped in '04'. "Now, the day." Nihlus selected '27' and then tapped the last box and typed '2012'.

The device then began to beep along with a 10-second countdown. Saren placed his hand around the device along with Nihlus' hand and squinted his eyes shut.

"What's happening? Saren, what are you doing! Is it a bomb?" Nihlus' voice penetrated the air over top of the incessant beeping.

"Don't let go! It's not a bomb!" Saren reassured as the countdown struck 1.

Nihlus' eyes remained open. A very short boom emitted and then the sound of his ears ringing followed soon after. His vision flashed a very bright light and then consciousness slipped.

Nihlus awakened, slowly opening his eyes. The air was warm against his skin and the sun was very bright. He concluded that an overpass that glided above them and the four-story building behind him shaded their eyes. Nihlus found that Saren had been curled up against him on the cool concrete ground they rested upon.

Nihlus made a sluggish endeavor to prop himself up to survey their milieu. They were in an alleyway cul-de-sac that was scattered with dust and cracks. Nihlus listened to the ambient reverberation that he could describe almost as wind, but something else to it, like motor vehicles tracking down quickly upon asphalt. He could hear the slight sounds of many voices like a busy shopping centre or plaza. There were no living beings around them such as humans, asari or even other turians. Or at least none that he could see. In the distance, Nihlus was able to pick out the slight sound of sirens heading to their unknown destination.

Nihlus picked himself off the ground, shaking Saren awake at the same time. He picked his head up off the ground and let his blue eyes take in his surroundings. Nihlus held out a hand to help Saren up, but Saren just lazily pushed it to the side and got up on his own.

"What is this place?" Nihlus exclaimed, studying the area. Saren eyed Nihlus, then took out the time travelling device and looked upon the screen.

"It states that we are in Capital City, the biggest city on planet Earth. It says that the date is April 27, 2012." Saren described, keeping his distance from Nihlus.

"Can you get anymore information?"

"It says that Capital City's Total City area is 209,804 square kilometers. Not including the metropolitan area. It also says that the total population is 71,657,923, again, not including the metropolitan area. There doesn't seem to be any information about any residents not being human." Saren spoke carefully. "Oh, wait a minute, it says that there is approximately 1,500,000 Turian residents here."

"My spirits, this is a massive city." Nihlus said in astonishment, looking to the overpass above them. "That's like 11 times bigger than Palaven's biggest city. Wait, did you just say '1,500,000 Turian residents' here on Earth?" Saren nodded keeping his same straight and expressionless face.

"I don't ever recall Turian and Human contact during this year. I thought it happened much later on." Saren expressed. It was strange. What about the first contact war? Did that happen? If so, then why would there be Turians living on Earth, especially during 2012?

"Perhaps there is some kind of mistake. Maybe we are in a later year, perhaps 2100? Come, now Nihlus, let us go and see." Saren took a step forwards. Nihlus followed, not paying attention, ultimately bumping into Saren. The momentum caused Saren to lose his balance and Nihlus to sort of bounce back a bit. Within the momentum, the time travel device slipped from Saren's hands and began to fall to the ground.

Saren made an attempt at trying to catch it again, but failed. The device hit the ground and zapped away, disappearing into another time with a flash of light that lasted for a fraction of a second. Saren looked up and around, then at Nihlus, then the place where the device disappeared, then back to Nihlus.

"Where did it go?" Nihlus' simple and innocent question just about set Saren off. Saren tried to make it apparent that his temper was now flaring, but he knew that if he lashed out there could be grave consequences. He didn't exactly want Nihlus dead.

"WHERE did it go? Are you kidding me? You idiot! You made me drop it and now it transported to some other time! For all we know it could be in our time, or 100,000 years from now in either direction! Now, we're stuck here and can't leave! This is your entire fault! I spent many sleepless nights trying to finish it so it worked within a reasonable timeframe. Now what do I have to show for it?" Saren lashed his voice out, growling at Nihlus, trying to cut at his mind for the simple miscalculation he had done. As far as Nihlus knew, this wasn't Saren who would normally abuse him verbally. Most of the time he just scolded Nihlus and shrugged it off, but this time, Saren was really angry. He only got very angry with his enemies or other humans if they got on his nerves.

"Dammit Saren, I'm so sorry, it was just a simple misstep and I accidentally-"

"An accident? It's not an accident if it is preventable!" Saren cut Nihlus off just as he stormed out of the alleyway cul-de-sac and into the streets of this 'Capital City'. Nihlus followed.

"Saren, please don't go! You are the only one that I've got here and this city is so big! We don't know the streets, let alone what city district we are in!" Nihlus reached his hand out to place it on Saren's shoulder, but Saren just turned around and shoved him back, sending him to the ground.

"Nihlus, you've screwed this up enough. If I need you, I'll find you. But in the mean time, do not talk to me." Saren shouted out, then turned and walked off at a fast pace, leaving Nihlus to hang his head low in defeat. Nihlus slowly returned to his feet.

"Saren!" Nihlus called out, only in a whisper, preventing anyone else from hearing it other than himself. "What have I done?"

After a good 10 minutes of sitting, Nihlus decided to pick himself up and walk out into the city streets. He walked out of the long alleyway corridor and into the streets, seeing that they were crowded with humans. It wasn't as crowded as he thought it would be, though. The traffic wasn't congested and he had a place to stand, but nevertheless, the high-density sidewalks were still full of humans, allowing them to convey the area in reach of their ultimate destination. Nihlus stood out from the crowd, being a foot taller than most of the humans on the sidewalk.

Nihlus looked from side to side. He saw nothing of interest, with the exception of the extremely tall skyscrapers that surrounded him. They were much taller than those on Palaven. Nihlus stood across the street from a large construction zone with an incomplete tall skyscraper upon it, with renderings of an extremely tall pointed building. He approached the curb of the sidewalk, and waited for the perfect time to dart across the road. He watched as vehicles passed at low rates of speed and watched to his left as they began to back up for a red light. He waited for the vehicles in front of him to stop so he could run across.

It took a while to wait, but finally the cars had all lined up allowing him to cross safely. He would have to make it quick though, the lights wouldn't remain red forever. So, Nihlus took the chance and ran across the road, weaving through the unevenly lined up road. He could've sworn he got some odd looks from the human operators of the cars, but he didn't care. All he cared was that he gets to the uncongested sidewalk across to read the signs that took his interest. He reached the other side of the road, and hopped onto the sidewalk. He looked to the sky victoriously, then approached the fenced off construction site.

He looked up the silvery blue colored building that was being constructed. The base was very wide. The base rose from the ground outwards for about 20 floors, then began to go inwards to stick to the point design. It was obvious that this supertower was not complete, however, even at it's current completion, it was still very tall. But not as tall as one of the very tall buildings he saw a distance away, or so he could see. He finally directed his eyes to the information sign posted on the fence. It showed a rendering of the future completion, showing it dominating the city's skyline. He began to read the sign.

"When complete, The CC Point will rise above the world's current tallest building also in Capital City, the Xenon Tower, and will dominate the biggest skyline of the world. The CC Point, when completed, will have a never-before-reached floor count of 285 floors. This will be the world's first ever vertical city, having mixed usage, such as office, residential, shopping, and fine dining on the 285th floor, which will give an amazing panoramic view of Capital City. The CC Point will be able to withstand earthquakes as big as 12.0, which is very unlikely, of course. When complete, The CC Point will have a total estimated height of 5790 feet, or 1764 meters, making it the first building in the world to reach higher than one mile. The current Xenon Tower is only 3276 feet tall. Expected completion is sometime this year in 2012."

Nihlus stood there, contemplating. "That sure is a mouthful to read. Why does it need to be so tall? Palaven's tallest building only has about 170 floors." He thought aloud.

Nihlus turned around and surveyed the vicinity. He contemplated where he should go next. But at this point, that was one of the great mysteries of the universe. He didn't know anything about this city. He had heard of it before but never knew anything about it, though he heard Capital City was the biggest city of any city in the known universe. Well, at least in his time.

Nihlus walked in the direction that he saw fit; he began walking right, to see where he may end up. Who knows, he might even bump into Saren on his way to where ever it was that he was going. During Nihlus' time in Capital City, he didn't see any other Turians other than himself and Saren. Nihlus only continued forwards, wondering if Saren was actually right when the device told him there were other Turians living in Capital City. Oh, the device. How Nihlus felt awful for wrecking it.

Nihlus walked. He had been walking for a good 45 minutes, and he was walking fast too. He walked until he arrived at a nice modernly designed plaza that sat just before a tall building that was coated in black glass that appeared to be about 95 floors tall. He looked around, and noticed that he was now close to the ocean. Nihlus witnessed many other Turians in this area. Saren was right. Maybe somehow, he had ventured on into this part of the city? Nihlus wanted to find him, he was really the only friend he had, even though Saren could be very easy to irritate, and didn't even act like he really cared.

Nihlus made the decision to enter the building.

He walked forwards, through the plaza, passing a modern fountain and a tall modern sculpture. There were many palm trees about, placed in precarious places. The sun was warm; it was a comfortable temperature for him.

Nihlus entered the building. He found himself inside a single story lobby that was coated in red décor. There was a bouncer standing by the main entrance, beside one of the lobby counters, where a beautiful female Turian secretary sat. The bouncer was human. His appearance was very tough, something Nihlus did not want to mess with. Humans, statistically, are stronger than Turians are, but then again, Turians are faster. Nihlus walked to the door and tried to enter, but was blocked by the bouncer.

"Sorry man, but yer gonna have to sign in over there first." The bouncer directed Nihlus to the female Turian secretary. Nihlus nodded as a sign that he complied, and moved over to the front desk, calling the secretary's attention to him. She put her novel down and acknowledged him.

"Good afternoon, and welcome to The Hybrid. How may I help you?" She greeted, with a welcoming Turian smile.

Nihlus pointed his eyes away and scratched lightly at the back of his fringe. "Um, I was told that I need to sign in before entering."

"Yes, you were told correct. May I get your first and last name sir?"

"Yeah, sure. It's Nihlus Kryik."

"Okay, and may I have any form of contact information? Such as home phone, mobile, email, etc?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess. My mobile number is 675-09897-565."

The secretary just looked at him with a dumbfounded expression.

"Are you sure that is a valid mobile number?" The secretary asked.

"Yes, it works just fine."

The secretary nimbly pressed the keys on her computer's black backlit keyboard. She moved the mouse around, which also illuminated in different colors, and clicked a couple of times. The then tapped and dragged on the screen of the thin, sleek all-in-one computer, with a logo on the back that read 'HP'.

"Okay. You are all ready to go. Just tell the bouncer your name and he'll sign you in. Please enjoy your stay at The Hybrid!" Nihlus nodded, mandibles spread in his own smile. He approached the bouncer, who pulled out a data pad that said 'iPad' on the back.

"First and last name please?" The bouncer asked, his glowing blue eyes fixated on the iPad.

"Nihlus Kryik."

The bouncer swiped up on the iPad, browsing through the list of names. "Alright, looks like the registration went successfully. You may enter now. You don't have to sign out when you leave." The bouncer pressed his hand into a glossy black handprint reader that sat on the wall behind him and Nihlus watched as a single line of a bright blue glow scanned his hand. Then Nihlus watched as the luxuriously styled glass doors slid open with a silent whoosh. From inside the lobby, Nihlus could hear loud electronic music playing. It wasn't too loud for his ears to handle though. What on Palaven did Nihlus sign up for?

Nihlus stepped in, seeing many Humans and Turians abound. The big nightclub area was fairly dimly lit, with colored lights over dance floors. Nihlus looked up, seeing the big 10 story tall atrium that was also dimly lit, each of those 10 floors apparently belonging to the nightclub. Everywhere, almost all Humans and Turians were dressed formally, the human females wearing glittering gowns and dresses and human males wearing formal black, gray, or dark blue tuxedos. The Turians there were wearing their formal outfits as well. But of course not everyone was in formal wear. Some people wore regular everyday clothing. Nihlus assumed that this was a formal nightclub that was somehow busy and open even during the day. From Nihlus' point of view, there were two big oval shaped bars just passed the atrium directly adjacent from each other. Each had an oval shaped support column in the middle that had thin red lights going up the sides. The bar on the left appeared to be a juice bar as martini glasses and other luxurious glasses rested, hanging from the ceiling. The support column in the middle of the bar had shelves caved into it that supported many elixirs and juices and nectars in various colors. The bartender for the juice bar just so happened to be a male Turian.

The bar adjacent to the juice bar was probably a snack bar, by what Nihlus could tell. There were plates supported by shelves caved into the support column and silver fridge doors and microwaves implemented in the support column. The bartender for the snack bar was a very stylish Human female.

Beside the bars, on the right of them, were some tables and wrap-around booth chairs. Just before that, was an indent in the wall with more booth areas, however, they were larger, the tables were just small coffee tables in the middle and were separated by tall full story walls.

Beyond the bars, from what Nihlus could see was a large stage with lots of chairs on it, along with a few musical instruments such as a black grand piano, a drumset, and several other things along with those. To the left side from Nihlus' angle, was a hallway, illuminated by a bright pink light.

To Nihlus' left were three elevators and a hallway illuminated by a bright blue light, with a washroom sign up above. In all, the large nightclub looked very festive.

Nihlus began forwards towards the juice bar and sat down on one of the stools. He sat alone, there was no one sitting directly in a seat beside him. Nihlus rested his arms down on the red and black granite as the Turian bartender got back from placing some martini glasses back into the dishwasher that resided under the counter. From what Nihlus could see, under the counters were many fridge doors for drinks and other things.

The bartender then stopped in front of Nihlus.

"What can I get for you?" The bartender handed Nihlus a large, specially designed drink menu that listed hundreds of all kinds of drinks and their prices.

"Oh I'm sorry but I don't have any money." Nihlus pushed the menu back.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, ask away."

"What's up with the bouncer in the lobby there?"

"I get asked this a lot by other Turians. He's a vampire. They're Humans, but with a few differences. Basically, his eyes glow and his skin is paler. They are usually nocturnal and get sick in the daylight. Plus they also need plasma, which they can get from drinking human blood or eating plasma fruits. Or if they're feeling really adventurous, they can break a plasma screen TV and drink whatever liquid flows out." Was the response Nihlus received. The part about drinking blood made Nihlus cringe.

"Do they benefit from Turian blood?"

"It's possible. But I can't be sure. Just one more thing: All humans have four really sharp canine teeth, but vampires can extend them and retract them. And whenever a vampire drinks the blood of another human, that human will become a vampire as well."

"That kind of sounds awful! Can it be cured?"

"Yeah, but it's expensive."

Nihlus looked around, just to see if he could spot one of the mystical vampires. He was able to pick out the sight of two bright glowing red eyes, but that's all he saw.

"Hey, buddy. Are you new here?" The bartender returned his attention to Nihlus.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Alright, you get a free drink then, just because you're new. Here's the menu, it's your pick." The Turian bartender barred his sharp teeth with a smile and handed Nihlus back them menu. Nihlus took the menu and flipped the pages, looking at all the multicolored drinks and the fruity names.

"Uh, I guess I'll have this 'Strawberry Daiquiri" I guess that's how you say it." Nihlus ordered, pointing to the image of the red drink.

"You've got it!" The bartender took the menu and handed it to someone else at the juice bar. Nihlus watched as he opened up one of the refrigerators underneath the counter and took several bottles of different things. The bartender took all the drink mixes, flipped them around between his nimble hands and poured them into a pitcher with a screw-on lid. The bartender completed the mixing and put the drink mixes down, and tossed the pitcher around in a few cool moves, then poured the red liquid into a tall glass with a wide base to it. The bartender then pulled out what appeared to be a medical bottle filled with clear liquid, like water. But it appeared to be thicker than water. The bartender poured a little bit of it in and mixed it around in the drink then handed it off to Nihlus.

"What was that that you put in it? Are you trying to poison me?" Nihlus eyed the drink suspiciously. If so, why would the bartender want Nihlus dead?

"What? No, it's not poison! Several months back, about eight months after Turians found Earth and some began to move into Capital City, the Humans and Turians collaborated and developed something that allows Humans to ingest Turian food and drinks, and vice versa. It even allowed for Turians and Humans to conceive a child together. But, say for example, a Turian wants to go out with human friends for dinner, he or she has to take some of the 'antidote' every time they decide to eat human food. Or they could just put it in their food, it works both ways. And to tell you the truth, that stuff can be quite expensive." The bartender explained as he readied to make another drink for another customer.

"That's a little weird, that Humans and Turians can have babies together with that stuff then I guess." Nihlus commented. It was weird. Back in his time, it was very rare for a Human and Turian to conceive naturally, and if it did happen, there was a high chance that the child wouldn't live past five years of age. Besides, to him, the thought of it was just weird. It just wasn't natural. Yes, he has heard of Turians and Humans managing to conceive but chances are good that those poor children didn't have a very long life.

Nihlus then took his drink, finally having a sense of reassurement and took a sip of it. It was a little thicker than water, but it was sweet, and fruity. The sensation of the drink rang out through his body, making him feel more alive. Nihlus took another sip, and allowed the bright red fluid to seep down his throat. 'Boy, do Humans ever know how to satisfy one's craving for something sweet!' Nihlus thought.

"I'd like a Prosecco please." Came the sound of a female's voice from beside Nihlus. Nihlus turned his head to get a glimpse of her. It was a Human female wearing a long, white, sparkling dress with short sleeves. She wore long white gloves that extended to her elbows, giving the rest of her a dazzling effect. She had beautiful long black hair and from what Nihlus could tell, her eyes were as blue as sapphire. Her voice was pure. No signs of imperfection. She was beautiful. Nihlus had never, ever thought of a Human as being pretty, or beautiful, or as they say, 'Hot'.

She noticed Nihlus examining her, and turned her head to look back. "What? Why does everyone keep looking at me?" She spoke out, a little estranged.

Nihlus snapped out of his trance. "Oh! Sorry. I ah…I um…Oh never mind. Uh…My name's Nihlus. Kryik is my last name." Nihlus smiled, stuttering, noticing no difference in the young lady's expression.

"You're going to have to do better than that if you want to get me to tell you my name."

"Oh. Um, okay. Sorry I was staring. It's just that I…I think you're really pretty!" Nihlus watched her expression change a little bit. He saw the corners of her lips turn up a little bit in a smile. Nihlus was never ever good at talking to new people. He usually only did it if he had to. Now was not one of those times where he had to talk to new people, he just did it simply because he did. He especially could not keep any friends. He just didn't know how to. It was surprising to see that he and Saren stuck together for so long. However, that probably just changed.

"Yes, I already know that…" She responded, looking Nihlus up and down.

"And I just…Hmm…I don't know. I've never talked to any women as pretty as you though."

The young lady smiled completely, finally.

"Well, then I guess you can call me Gianna Trimboli. My full name is Giovanna Lydia Aryanna Trimboli." Gianna, so her name was, took the drink that the bartender handed her, and began to sip at it very quickly.

"I think maybe you should drink that a little slower!" Nihlus laughed.

"I'm going to be up on stage soon! I have to hurry! It's a good thing this isn't a lot of drink!" Gianna said as she gulped down the rest of her drink. She then pulled out a five-dollar bill from a hidden pocket in her dress, and when the bartender came around, she handed it to him for the drink. "Keep the change."

"I'm going upstage now. I'm gonna sing a song. You wanna come and watch?" Gianna asked as she got up.

"Sure."

"Okay, follow me!"

Gianna led Nihlus to the front of the stage and left him just before it. She then waltzed into a door and disappeared for a couple of minutes, finally re-appearing on the stage, and walking towards the microphone in the front of the stage. She tapped it a couple of times, and then the loud electronic music that played on the first floor finally died down, slowly. The people in the nightclub all stopped talking and turned their attention towards the stage, where Gianna stood. She held the microphone in her hand while it was still supported by the microphone stand. Once the area was filled with complete silence, Gianna slowly began to sing.

"If…I…Should stay…I would only be in…Your way. So I'll…Go…But I know…I'll think of you. Every step of…The way… … …And I…Will always, love you. Will always love you.

Gianna sung the song so beautifully, her voice sounding each syllable perfectly and incredibly. She did a perfect recreation of Whitney Houston's popular song. It was absolutely flawless. It surprised Nihlus, but didn't at the same time. He knew of her perfect voice before, but had no idea that she housed this incredible talent. Nihlus just marveled in awe at the amazing sound of her voice. Nihlus knew that humans were the most virtuoso known sapient species but he had never, ever heard any human singing up close and personal. To Nihlus, it was a treat. He couldn't wait to hear them making music with the actual musical instruments.

The song ended and Gianna ended off her singing by recreating Whitney Houston's most famous ending tone. There was no mistake in her singing whatsoever. She smiled and waved, then promptly disappeared into the darkness at the back of the stage. Everyone clapped and cheered without end, until the sound of the regular electronic music in the nightclub restarted. From that point, everyone who stayed and watched turned back to their original positions and continued what they were doing before the performance. Nihlus waited at the door she disappeared into before.

Gianna reappeared by opening the door, greeted by Nihlus standing there at the door.

"That was amazing! I had no idea you had such talent!" Nihlus complimented, as he followed her down to one of the unoccupied booth tables. She motioned for him to sit down beside her.

"I already know that." She replied.

Nihlus chuckled. "No modesty, I see." He smiled.

Gianna grinned, showing her pearly white flat teeth, yet sharp four canines.

"Are you a vampire?" Nihlus asked with a hint of confusion in his voice.

"No." Her expression didn't change too much. She only closed her mouth, but maintained her friendly smile. "So, um…Nihlus?" Gianna forgot his name temporarily.

"Yeah?"

"When did you come to Earth?"

Nihlus took a few seconds to register the question, then looked around, shyly scratching the back of his fringe. "Oh, um, I just came here today."

"Oh, cool. Well I guess there is one thing that you might want to know."

"Okay, what is it?"

"Earthquakes. Capital City has a high earthquake risk."

"Earthquakes?" Nihlus has heard of earthquakes before. But back on his home planet, or any other planet he visited, he had never felt one. As a matter of fact, they happened so rarely that he never got news of any ever occurring. It was so rare that the definition of 'earthquake' literally slipped his mind. He never thought they could get really big, all the earthquakes he heard of when he was in his time doing his Spectre work were all small and only really occurred on Earth, or so he heard. Maybe he will get a chance to feel one.

"Yeah, you know, when the ground starts to shake?"

"Yeah I know that much." Nihlus looked around. "But here in this city, how big can they get?"

"They can get very, very strong and destructive. And if the earthquake's epicenter is in such a position and is powerful enough, it can cause a great big ocean wave that will further the destruction and flood the city in great portions. The city has sirens for those kinds of waves, though."

Nihlus widened his green eyes a bit. "Wow! What happens if there is a really big earthquake?"

"You duck and cover. If you're outside, you run as far away from buildings, such as the middle of the road, or if you're inside, get under a table, desk, chair, or anything like that."

"Oh. I see. Now let's get off this topic! I don't really like it. Let's see, hmm…" Nihlus put a finger to his chin. "You want to be friends?"

Gianna put on a slightly disapproving look on her face, almost like it was suspicious. She looked Nihlus up and down and up again. Nihlus wiped the smile off his face, covering up his teeth and moving his mandibles back to the rest of his face. He looked down in an upset manner. His first chance at a friend had just been turned down.

"Uh, don't you have any other friends?" She responded, maintaining the same look.

"Oh, I ah…Ugh…I…Sorry. I don't actually have any other friends, but I guess I'll go now though." Nihlus almost let his tears flow. Turians weren't known to cry out of emotion, but Nihlus was one of the few Turians who did cry out of emotion. He hung his head low, looking down. He scooted over to allow himself to get out of the booth. He slowly got up and walked away.

Nihlus gained distance from the booth that Gianna sat at, until he heard quick footsteps pacing themselves, catching up to him. "Nihlus!"

Nihlus stopped and turned around. "You? I thought you didn't want me around you!" He spoke out, surprised that Gianna had come back for him. "It's okay, if you don't want me, I can leave."

"No, I didn't mean to make it sound like I just rejected you. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. It's just that I don't know how to keep a friend. To tell you the truth, I don't have any friends."

Nihlus almost let his jaw drop. "You…You mean you don't have _any _friends?" He asked, staring at Gianna, bewildered.

"None at all. You'd think that with someone as pretty, or smart, or nice as me would have plenty. But I don't. I've had a few friends in the past but they all turned out to be jerks or backstabbers or just forgot, but I've never had a real friend before. So I just don't talk to anyone, and generally if someone does talk to me, I just say a few things before I make up an excuse to get them to leave. I kinda used me going upstage as an excuse to try and get rid of you. But then, as I looked at you when I sang, I knew there was something different about you. You just seem…I don't know, to have a genuine friendliness about you? I don't really know how to word it. But, yeah, I guess we can be friends, then."

"Okay, cool. I guess I can say that you are my first real friend too, then." Nihlus replied, smile returning to his face. Gianna smiled back. "But what about family members?"

"Oh, I don't really consider my family to be 'friends' or something, but nonetheless, we are still close. I do have a sister and a brother, but we don't talk much. My sister, Lorenza is really childish and is only a couple years older than me, and my brother, Edmondo has a busy job. Besides, both still live in Italy, my country of origin."

"What about your parents?"

"My papa died and my mama still lives in Italy as well."

"Oh, I'm…So sorry."

"It's okay; I get that a lot when I tell people about my background. Hey Nihlus?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"How hot is it on your home planet?"

"About as warm as it is here. I'd say a little bit warmer. Not much though."

Gianna nodded, and directed Nihlus, leading him back to the booth they were sitting at previously, continuing their very, very, very long conversation. It was about 9:20 PM by the time Gianna broke the ice. She pulled out her phone, checking the time.

"I'm going to have to go home now. So, I'll see you here tomorrow?"

Nihlus turned his head around, looking for a clock, to no avail, finally pulling out his own phone. He clicked the home button, and the holographic touchscreen illuminated. He swiped right one, and tapped on a clock app. Gianna sat beside him, mystified in a trance at the device.

"WOAH! What…Is…THAT?" She blurted surprised, staring at Nihlus' phone device.

"It's…Just my phone…"

"That is soooooooo cool!" Gianna went on. She reached out and swiped the app screen across. "Where did you get it?"

Nihlus had to think quickly. He knew that Gianna wouldn't believe him if he told her where it really came from, so he had to bend the truth a little bit. "Oh…Um, I got it from…My friend made it for me a long time ago. I can't contact him anymore though…I guess." Nihlus deviously lied. He felt uncomfortable about lying. It wasn't natural and he certainly didn't like it. He was always one to be honest with others.

"Oh, okay, I guess. It's still pretty cool though." Gianna said as Nihlus shut it off. "Well, I guess I'm going to go home now. We'll see you tomorrow then!" Gianna said as she began to get up. Nihlus smiled and she smiled back, then walked off once she got out of the booth. That's when Nihlus realized his grave mistake. Once he did so, he jumped up and went after Gianna. She hadn't even made it to the lobby door when he made it to her.

"Gianna! Wait up! I forgot to tell you something!" Nihlus lightly grabbed her shoulder, turning her around to face him.

"Yeah? What is it? Do you need something?"

"Well, technically, yeah. Can I stay at your place? I kinda don't have any money or a place to stay…Yet…"

Gianna directed her eyes away from Nihlus for a minute, then back to him, not knowing what to do, fearing she may lose the only friend she has.

"Yeah, sure, why not? I've got a big house and no one else to share it with. Come on, I'll drive."

Nihlus smiled. "Okay, let's go! Thanks, you really saved me just there!"

Gianna smiled and turned around, walking towards the lobby doors with Nihlus following. She held the door open for him, and opened the main doors and allowed herself to exit, holding the door open for Nihlus as well. She led him down across the front of the tall building in the sunsetting sky and down to a short driveway that led to a large garage door attached to a dark, glassy, windowless area of the building.

She pressed her hand to the onyx handprint reader, and the garage door opened, revealing a parked car inside. Then, without warning, the car, or whatever it was on, moved up on a platform, far up beyond what Gianna and Nihlus could see through the garage door. Just after the garage door and where the car was parked, was like a huge, warehouse style shelving full of other cars.

The lift returned down with another car on it, and set it lightly on the ground, then moving it out of the garage. Gianna then used her key to remotely unlock it, then get in and motioning for Nihlus to get in.

It was an active vehicle storage system, a technology developed by Humans and used by all species, or at least back in Nihlus' original time.

Nihlus watched as Gianna inserted the ignition key, twisted it and then pressed a button on the dash that illuminated a green rim around it once pressed. The car silently roared to life, with the sound of any high efficiency vehicle.

"I love my Dacia Logan!" Gianna purred to the car. It was a little strange the way she did it. Nihlus smiled, looked to the ceiling of the car and laughed lightly.

Nihlus awoke the next morning. It was bright and sunny, the sun shone calmly into the bedroom. The bedroom he was in was nicely decorated, modern, clean, tidy and fresh. He had a queen sized bed all to himself. The sheets were clean and tidy. They were bright and clean. The top comforter was light tan brown, thick velvet. It was incredibly soft to the eyes and especially the touch. From beyond the closed bedroom door, Nihlus could hear the coming closer sounds of footsteps. They gained distance to his door, then when they reached it, the door flew open. It was Gianna on the other end. She wore bright and cheery, yet modern clothing. It was a light blue cardigan and white dress shirt underneath with a golden colored sash. She wore slightly skinny jeans and black leather high-heeled boots.

"Good morning!" She practically sang, running to the side of Nihlus' bed. She ripped the covers off of Nihlus' body, revealing himself, in only boxer shorts. She ran over to the dresser that sat directly adjacent to the bed and opened it, hauling out Nihlus' normal everyday clothes. They were soft between her fingers. She then went over and placed them calmly on the foot of the bed.

"Get dressed, we are going to the city's highest skydeck on the Xenon Tower!" She pulled him up and out of the bed by the hand and practically dressed him herself. She had significant difficulty, but she got the job done. She then proceeded to bring Nihlus downstairs calmly, carefully and quietly by the hand. He felt the cool and soft skin on her hand. Nihlus thought of it as alien, yet so close to home. He had never touched human skin before, or so he thought.

"You sure seem enthusiastic. What's the big deal?" Nihlus queried, unable to recall what had happened the night before. From what Nihlus remembered at that nightclub, she wasn't always this crazy, or overly happy.

Gianna stopped once they had reached the main area on the main floor of the house, turned around and pulled Nihlus very, very close. She gently pulled his face near hers, caressing his mouth with her lips ever so tenderly. Nihlus was startled, but got used to it quickly, and allowed himself into it.

"Let's just say that you and I had a good night together last night." She seductively whispered. Nihlus smiled, then chuckled mischievously.

"Oh boy I can think of a few things I could do to you right now." Nihlus finally began to recall moments from the previous lust encrusted night before. Gianna allowed Nihlus to grip her breasts gently and push her against the wall. "Let's forget about going downtown, and have some more time to ourselves." Nihlus breathed as he moved his face about hers, lowering his head to lick across her neck with his long blue tongue.

Gianna let loose a gentle moan synchronously to the way Nihlus loved her neck and chest. She pressed her face up against his cheek, slowly kissing each inch of his mandible. She slowly moved her mouth against his, after he pulled his tongue back into his mouth, and allowed Nihlus to slip his tongue into her mouth. She wrapped hers around his. The aromatic taste and sensation of him all over her was intense. But it was only just beginning, and they still had their clothes on.

The moment was disturbed by a sudden convulsion in the ground. The way it's sudden movement was powerful and terrifying. The moment of pleasure suddenly was taken away from lust and comfort and safety in the other's arms to a happening of utter terror. The jostling of the ground knocked both Nihlus and Gianna to the floor, separating them from each other's comfort. Nihlus made a failing attempt to regain his control but could not, as he was suddenly pinned to the floor by falling debris from the ceiling.

From the floor, Nihlus tried to move himself up to try and save his only loved one, but was forced back to the floor by the debris covering him. It allowed him only to move his head up. He looked around finding Gianna in the same trouble, struggling to lift herself. The next moments to convey were absolutely awful.

Nihlus watched as the ground's movement purposefully knocked a bookshelf down, but not where anyone would want it. The top of the shelf landed directly on Gianna's neck, breaking it instantly, accompanied by the sound of a horrible, blood curdling snap. Nihlus further attempted to free himself, but couldn't. All he could do was watch in terror as his Human lover's arms and legs flailed around, before coming to a slow halt, and then watching as her crimson blood flowed out from beneath the book shelf. Nihlus screamed out, his cry awful, like the sound of a dying lamb.

#

The next thing Nihlus knew he woke up, on a couch, Gianna's head hovering over him. The ground was still convulsing, however, it wasn't as strong as it was before. Only the dishes in the cupboards and the pictures on the walls rattled. Gianna was trying to get him to calm down, patting the side of his face ever so gently.

It was only a few seconds before the living ground died out again.

Gianna took a damp cloth and patted Nihlus' forehead with it. The cool, soothing water did it's job at relaxing him. He placed his head back down on the pillow, his fast breathing finally starting to slow down. Nihlus was finally able to hear the sound of Gianna's voice again.

"Nihlus, can you hear me?" She coaxed, continuing to pat his face down with the cloth. He nodded lightly, feeling his emerald green eyes beginning to burn up, tears starting to stream from them. He winced lightly, showing the world that he had finally lost it and had given up, finally allowing his emotions to run free, almost rampant.

Gianna sighed in relief, taking his head and cradling it into her neck, like a mother would to an upset child. She held the back of his head, just below his fringe and with the other hand placed it to the side of his face. She rubbed the back of his neck gently, allowing the feeling of her soft skin and hand lotion to settle in. It made up for the horrible experience Nihlus just went through in his mind.

"Are you going to be okay? Would you like some water?" Gianna whispered silently to Nihlus like he was a baby. He nodded; face still buried in her shoulder, soaking it with the amount of crying he had been doing within the last thirty seconds.

Nihlus felt her grip on his head loosen and felt her take his hand, and pull him up slowly. She wrapped his arm around her back and gripped it with one hand, while using the other to guide him to the kitchen.

He still wined, unusual for any Turian to cry so heavily for such a long time. Typically, they only did it during grieving or when in an agonizing amount of pain. Nihlus kept near Gianna; for fear that he might lose her, this time for real. He kept trying to tell himself in his mind that it was only a bad dream.

They reached the kitchen, and Gianna set Nihlus down at the breakfast table. She rushed to one of the glossy overhead cupboards, opened it and grabbed a tall glass. She moved over to the water fountain in a corner and filled the glass full with water, bringing it to Nihlus. She sat down in a chair beside him, took the glass and held it close to his face, tipping it slightly into his mouth, stopping once a small percent of the water had seeped into his mouth.

Nihlus continued to whimper. "You fell asleep so quickly when I was driving you last night. When I arrived home, I carried you inside, it was tough, but I made it, and I put you on the couch. And you slept like a baby. I stayed there on the armchair just ajar from the couch and dozed off there. Then I woke up, started to read a book and the ground started shaking, and that small earthquake must have given you awful dreams. Are you sure you're okay?" Gianna spoke, beginning to rub the back of his neck again gently.

"I-I think so. Oh the dream was awful. I hope I never have to see that in real life!" Nihlus said, wiping the tears from his eyes. Gianna sat beside him, patiently listening.

"What happened?"

"Well, um, you and I were, um, best friends and we were going to go downtown. And the ground started to shake and I tried to save you, but something fell on you and killed you. It was so vivid, I'm glad it wasn't real. But for something like that to happen to you…I-I just can't-"Nihlus ran out of words to say. He sighed, leaning into Gianna again. "I'm just so worried that'll happen in real life."

Gianna held his head close to her chest in a motherly fashion, lightly stroking the top of his fringe. "You don't have to worry about that. We'll always be safe, you can surely trust the Capital City building code." But saying that did not stop Nihlus from worrying. But for now, everything was safe, so he hoped.

He picked himself and sat up fully unassisted on the chair. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He wiped his eyes clear of the tears he shed, turning his head to view Gianna. "I would rather have been conscious during the earthquake, but I was very tired. I couldn't help it. I hadn't slept for a couple of days."

Gianna smiled, lowered her eyes and shook her head. "What caused you to stay awake for that long?"

Nihlus searched his mind for a deceiving lie. It was difficult. It was not Turian nature to lie. "Preparations for moving to Earth."

"Well then you would've purchased a home and converted your wealth to Canadian Dollars."

"I ah…It slipped my mind. I didn't get the chance."

"So I see."

"You know…If you don't want me here…I can…Find another place." He got up to leave, but was stopped by Gianna. She lightly grabbed him by the shoulder. He turned his head to view Gianna, but continued, with Gianna following, attempting to stop him. He didn't walk at a fast pace, he walked fairly slowly.

"Nihlus, please stop! I don't want you to leave. Just at least stop so I can talk to you for a minute!"

Nihlus came to a grinding halt. He turned himself to face Gianna completely. "By the tone of your voice it sounds that you've made it apparent that I am a burden to you. If you wish to have me gone, then I can leave. I don't want to trouble you." He didn't raise his voice. It remained monotone, something that was unlike Nihlus.

"Nihlus, that's not what I meant. It just seemed unusual, that's all. To tell you the truth, whether you're lying or not about not having any money or an actual house, you are my friend, and I do want you to stay here with me. I very rarely have anyone come over. I don't have any friends; you are the only one I have. I don't have any one to share my big house with. My brother is the CEO of a major company. I'm sure he wouldn't mind me having one more person living in a house that he bought for his sister." She smiled brightly, making the room seem like a happier place, as if the bright sun shining in through the windows wasn't enough.

Nihlus sighed and looked down, a defeated feeling strewn throughout his body.

"Okay. I was worried that I was a burden to you, leeching off of your wealth. I do not like being selfish and I certainly do not like taking from other people." He said calmly, choosing whether or not to bring his face up to meet his friend's face.

"Heh. It's Turian nature to be that way. Humans are selfish to an extent, but can be really selfish. But we do like to share for the most part, though. I don't mind you staying here and not working and taking advantage of my home and money."

Nihlus looked up and smiled. "Okay. Say, how much money do you have?"

Gianna shook her head faintly. "Quite a bit. My brother usually sends me down a ton of cash into my bank account every week and I am also a professional photographer, I take lots of pictures, edit them on my computer in Adobe Photoshop and other professional grade programs, and then sell them on the Internet, I can usually fetch up to $250 for one photo and I often sell at least ten each day, so I've got quite a bit of cash. So yes, I can share it with you. I want to share it with you. I don't spend a lot on unnecessary things, so as you can tell, I'm quite rich." A huge smile spread across Nihlus' mandibles. He almost laughed.

"You said your brother is the CEO of a major company. What company?" Nihlus asked, taking back his humor and returning to an above average straight face.

"It's a very, very big company that sells electronics. Very popular and extremely rich. It is called BlackSpace Electronics. My brother is a billionaire because of it. His name is Edmondo, if I haven't told you already. Edmondo Trimboli. He doesn't spend money unnecessarily so he started a huge charity fund that feeds and gives clothing to people who can't support themselves and their families."

Nihlus thought. BlackSpace Electronics manufactured many things back in his time and continued to be extremely popular and wealthy.

"Wait…" Nihlus put on a slightly suspicious look on his face.

"What?"

"You mean – you're not married?"

"Well of course not, I think I made it kind of obvious when we were at The Hybrid yesterday!" Gianna laughed.

"How old are you then?"

Gianna hesitated for a second.

"26 years old. Born on November 20. How about you?"

"I'm 29. I'm actually younger than what some people interpret me to be."

"Hmm…Not much older than I. What was the date that you were born?"

Nihlus stopped. What year would he tell her? He couldn't just tell her his actual birth year. She wouldn't believe him, or think it was creepy.

"Oh. I was born on Decius eighth." Nihlus looked around quickly, trying to avoid her ever-nosy eyes. That was his real birth date; he just didn't want to reveal his birth year.

"Oh okay."

Nihlus stopped looking around and returned to acting normal again. He never knew how to talk to girls. It always made him so nervous that he would screw up and they would shun him for the rest of his days.

"May I ask a personal question?"

Nihlus subtly nodded his head.

"Have you ever been married or had a girlfriend? Are you married or have a girlfriend?"

Nihlus almost peed himself as he widened his eyes and tightened his control over his bladder. He felt a chill go down his back, almost as if he was the one to investigate a murder scene. Murders never really got to him, but he did get that feeling from time to time. But now it was his turn. He almost knew this might happen some time, and it did. Nihlus didn't know how to respond. Did she like him? Did she want sex? Was she coming on to him? Nihlus didn't know. He was not creeped out by the question, just startled. The worst part was that the way she said it, she sounded like she did want sex. He hoped not, because Nihlus had never actually done it before. He rarely played with himself. He knew that he could make Gianna very sick if she did and maybe even pregnant.

"Um, no, I'll answer no to both." Nihlus responded.

Gianna smiled mischievously. She then pushed herself against Nihlus, bringing him slowly to the floor, grabbing his crotch simultaneously. The thought of her trying to get him to do it with her was appalling.

"Hey! Are you listening?" Gianna snapped her fingers in front of Nihlus' face. He snapped out of his conscious nightmare, seeing that he was still standing there, not being smothered. Gianna was still standing there too. She had an impatient look on her face.

"I've never had an intimate relationship before. I've tried…though…with another male Turian though…"

If Gianna knew he was blushing right now, he sure would be right now; he would be incredibly blue. But due to a Turian's plating, it is not apparent. Nihlus knew what he said was true. He tried getting Saren. But Nihlus also used it as a tactic to prevent what he thought was going to be rape.

"Why do you ask?" Nihlus' eyes avoided Gianna's eyes while his mind wandered.

Gianna seemed taken aback. "You mean…You're gay?"

"No, no. I'm bise-"Nihlus stopped dead in his tracks. He caught himself. "Are you asking…Maybe because…" Nihlus notioned with his hands.

"What? You think that I'm going to try and get you to do me! That's funny! I'm too much of a virgin myself to even want to do it! I was just curious, you know how I am. You are the first Turian I know, well, except for that bartender there, but you know what I mean, right?" Gianna laughed. It totally went against what Nihlus originally thought, and he was thankful for that.

"You mean you…Oh never mind it. No, I'm not gay. If I was, I probably wouldn't have talked to you in the first place."

"So you're bisexual."

"Yeah, I am. It's normal for many Turians to be mostly straight, but have enough homosexuality like that in order to be able to have an indiscriminate relationship. Turians generally are very indiscriminate." Nihlus knew that back on Palaven, gays and lesbians were widely accepted and didn't have any problems. Nihlus knew, however, some Humans could be quite anti-gay and that displeased him. "I hope you don't mind."

"No, I don't. I actually really hate people who are homophobic and bigoted like that. I mean, it's like, what did they ever do to you, you know what I mean, right? Like, it's so bigoted and obtuse to think that all gay people are bad because of one previous experience. Most of the time you can't even tell when someone is gay just by taking a simple glance at them."

Nihlus complied and nodded. "Yeah, it's a real shame, especially because of the potential I see in Humans. But…I just think you are so pretty, though."

Gianna blushed, her cheeks that were already covered in light makeup turned pinker. "Thank you." She said in a cute voice. "I've been told that I was hot, but I've also been called a slut by the same people. It's never been sincere, but with you telling me, I know that you mean it."

Nihlus smiled, making it apparent. It was a very close mimic of the way Humans smiled. Nihlus felt the temptation to reach out and stroke her reddening cheeks with his right hand and tell her that everything was going to be fine, but he didn't know what kind of reaction he'd get out from her. Besides, it was way too early on for it to even occur. Instead, he lightly patted her on the back in a friendly manner.

#

The sun fell over the Capital City skyline. The gleaming mega-skyscrapers, the biggest skyline in the world glowed with all the city lights. The Xenon Tower, the city's and world's tallest completed skyscraper shone the brightest. Strips of blue lights illuminated in a slight spiral around the design of the slight spiral from extruding walls that twisted around a tall cylindrical core. The lights that lit up resembled lights found in Tron Legacy exactly. They were very bright, noticeable from any point of the city where the skyline was visible. Just several blocks away, The CC Point, nearing completion, reaching a height much taller than the 3276 foot tall Xenon Tower. It would be the first vertical city in the world. It was 10:00 PM on the first day Nihlus was awake at Gianna's house.

Gianna and Nihlus prepared themselves for a time out, to visit the Xenon Tower's skydeck on the 172nd floor. They had gone out earlier to get a more formal outfit to replace his regular clothing. Nihlus' new outfit consisted of black materials with silver outlines along the trim. Gianna's outfit was a short black and white dress, wide white strips down the sides and on the front, the black part covering the complete front. The same applied for the back. Her outfit had blue lights that outlined the black from the white. The blue light strips up her dress reacted to sound, brightening in reaction to sudden and lightly louder sounds, and the beats to music. She also wore white gloves that extended past her elbows. Another outfit which resembled something from Tron Legacy, though Nihlus' outfit was more of a generic nice outfit, however, still nice, when accompanied by the various minor adornments that Nihlus wore.

Gianna notioned for Nihlus to follow, a smile stretched across her face. Nihlus complied and followed her through the garage door in the laundry room adjacent to the living room. She pressed the button on her car's remote. The vehicle's headlights and taillights flashed twice as it prepared for it's occupants, causing the garage door which will allow the car to exit to open.

Both Gianna and Nihlus stepped into the car and buckled up. Gianna adjusted her rearview mirror and used the electronic panel on the inside of the car door to perfect the positioning of the sideview mirrors. She looked them over one more time, and shifted the vehicle into reverse.

She twisted her body around so she would be able to look out clearly through the rear window of the car. She began to back up slowly, making sure not to back into the doorframe of the double garage while watching for foreign objects at the same time. Her impatience grew, as there was nothing around her, so she began to back up a little faster, pushing down the masonry driveway, over the sidewalk that was just before the driveway and finally onto the road, cranking the steering wheel sharply to the right so that the car backed up to the right in the empty street. She narrowly dodged a few other vehicles that remained parked on the sides of the road, belonging to the other large estate houses.

Gianna then shifted the vehicle into drive, and hit the gas pedal and the car sprung into action, lightly lurching forwards. Gianna then accelerated to the maximum speed limit of 50 Kilometers per hour. She drove over slight curves and bends in the long street that was lined with rows of big houses that all sat very close to one another. They were close enough to start a forest fire of houses if one caught fire, but very luckily, they were made of mostly fire retardant materials, as were most of the buildings in Capital City. Any one building can burn, but the fire doesn't usually spread throughout a building or spread to others.

Gianna and Nihlus met the end of the residential street and stopped at a stop sign that rested just before a main road. They waited for the road to clear up enough for them to be able to pull out into the mainstream traffic and blend in.

The chance arrived and Gianna pulled her car into mainstream traffic, speeding up to 80KM/h. Gianna and Nihlus prepared for the long drive to downtown. From their current point, the gleaming downtown skyscrapers were visible, but were at a distance. With traffic, at their current speed and all the stops along the way, the total drive would take about three hours, so Gianna made good use of the legal speed limit and avoided any traffic backups that may have appeared.

In the meantime, Nihlus attempted to make up conversation.

"So…" He spoke up, finally shattering the silence. Gianna gleamed in the sound of the Turian's magnificent flanging voice.

"So…What?" She asked.

"I don't know. What do you want to talk about?" Nihlus queried.

"What's it like back on Palaven?"

"It's warm. In many ways, it's like Earth. It doesn't snow anywhere on Palaven. But it's about as warm as it is here in this city all around the planet. What is the average temperature for Capital City?"

Gianna thought for a second.

"For all year round, it's about 37 degrees Celsius. We are right on the equator so it doesn't snow here, well, except for that one odd occasion, where it has snowed over here in Capital City a couple of times. I witnessed both times." Gianna went on informatively. Her car moved through the big Capital City inner city highway that would ultimately lead to downtown. "It's a little weird for Canada. Capital Island is a province that was originally colonized by those who would found Canada and make it what it is today. The rest of Canada is just a northern country, though."

Nihlus nodded his head.

"What is it like in Italy?" Nihlus asked again.

"Well, there are very few new buildings. Most of them are old. It's warm, but definitely not as warm as it is here. The people aren't as friendly as they are in Capital City, but the food is good." Gianna entered a freeway exit. "There are a lot of churches and everyone is very religious."

Nihlus nodded again, and looked at Gianna whose eyes were focused on the road and her surroundings. He smiled.

"Do you think I'm weird?"

The question surprised Nihlus. It was very unexpected. What would he say? By no means did Nihlus want to offend her.

"Um…Yes…Wait…Or actually no…You're okay." Nihlus caught himself. She was surprised by Nihlus' mixed answer. He could tell by the way she widened her eyes and kept them focused on the road.

"Oh…I see…I guess…" Gianna responded.

The trip to the Xenon Tower was completely silent from then on.

#

Gianna and Nihlus arrived at the Xenon Tower. The base was cylindrical with it's extruding areas spiraling up the building, along with the strips of blue xenon lights. Around the building's plaza, was a very wide and large roundabout, to accommodate the plaza and the Xenon Tower's large and widespread base. Gianna drove along the roundabout, searching the base of the tower for the quadruple garage door bay that would lead to the fifteen story underground parking garage. Gianna kept the steering wheel turned to the left slightly so that she could easily maneuver the very large roundabout.

The quadruple garage doors finally appeared to the left of them (As that's where the Xenon Tower was) and Gianna flicked her left turn signal and cranked the steering wheel into a deeper left. She braked as she pulled up to the double sized garage door that automatically pulled itself open in reaction to sensing the vehicle there. It made it's way up and became one with the ceiling above. A light then turned green to signal Gianna forwards down the ramp.

At the bottom of the ramp, was a dead-end wall. Gianna pulled up to the wall. Directly outside her side window was a box that displayed fifteen numbered buttons. Gianna opened her door and got out of her car, after unbuckling her seatbelt, and pressed the second button.

An audible warning came over the intercom as a door behind the car began to close.

"Please stand clear of the garage door and remain still as the elevator is soon to be in motion." The polite female voice echoed through the elevator. Gianna went and sat back inside the car where Nihlus sat in the passenger seat, almost seemingly impatient.

A short, quick whir sounded throughout the elevator that was illuminated by blue strips of light on all 8 edges of the boxy room, as it began to move down. The short feeling of being fifty pounds lighter struck through Nihlus and Gianna as the short descent started, finally reaching the second floor of the underground parking garage. Again, the style of the elevator was very much inspired by Tron Legacy, where the walls, ceiling and floor were made from black and reflective glass. The Level Selecting box that Gianna used to select the second underground floor was a reflective glass touchscreen.

The polite recording came over the intercom again.

"Please enter your vehicle if you have gotten out, and prepare to leave the elevator, as you have arrived at the second floor, the floor that you have asked for."

Gianna had no need of starting her car again, it was already running. She stayed put and prepared to drive out, just as the garage door in front of her whooshed open.

The whole parking garage was illuminated fairly brightly by thin strips of blue lights that went all along the walls in key places and along the floors, making the driving lanes and parking spaces visible. The walls, support columns, ceiling and floor were all coated in the same jet-black glass that appeared in the elevator. Whoever designed the Xenon Tower was definitely into Tron Legacy, as the Xenon Tower had the modern design of today's buildings, but was covered in lights and glass that was exactly like Tron Legacy. Chances were good that the skydeck on the 172nd floor was also designed to represent Tron Legacy's design. It was a very impressive piece of architecture.

Gianna drove slowly browsing past all the other parked cars looking for a space to park her car. Many of the spaces were occupied with many cars. Gianna even noted a few Ferrari's and Lamborghini's in certain spaces. They were very eye appealing.

Gianna spotted a designated area for cars like hers, an area labeled by a large sign hanging from the ceiling (And lit up like Tron Legacy) that read 'Small Cars Only'. Gianna noticed a space that was calling out her name, so she drove over the minor turn and parked in the space.

She twisted the key in the steering column for here car's steering wheel, shutting the engine off. Nihlus didn't need to be told to get out. He unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out of the car, closing the car door gently, with Gianna following his actions. She pressed the remote for her car, and the four lights flashed twice, and the car made the arming car alarm sound. Gianna and Nihlus both walked to the modernly designed elevator that stood parked in the wall just a few meters away from her car. Gianna and Nihlus walked side by side.

Gianna pressed the glowing blue button on the black touchscreen interface that pointed up, and a futuristic elevator beep rung out and the doors opened immediately. The Tron Legacy style elevator was already stopped at their floor. Gianna and Nihlus stepped in.

They turned around and Gianna pressed '172' on the touchscreen keypad that read 'Please make a floor selection between 1 and 172.'

An electronic whir sounded and their ascent began.

Nihlus scratched the back of his head, just below the fringe.

"Why do Turians scratch the back of their heads all the time?" Gianna asked innocently, causing Nihlus to stop.

"It feels so good! How can we not?"

Gianna just shook her head a bit; an amused look overtook her face.

The elevator moved up the floors at a swift speed. In a matter of seconds, through the back of the elevator, Gianna and Nihlus turned to witness the transparent glass wall displaying the city from their height. It was an amazing view of the downtown nightlights.

The digital floor counter very quickly read '91, 92, 93, 94, 95' at a very fast pace, all the way through to 172. In all, the trip up the tall skyscraper took about a minute and a half.

A whisk emitted from the elevator as the glossy black doors slid open, allowing Nihlus and Gianna to leave the elevator at will. It made a modern electronic 'ding' sound as the exciting sky deck was revealed. The theme of it was heavily influenced by Tron Legacy.

Nihlus and Gianna stepped out. Her dress illuminated dress glowed to the sound of the electric vibes of music by Hybrid that echoed through the area. Not everyone in the sky deck was dressed fancily, but it was still more of a formal atmosphere. Something highly unusual, since the tower was mainly built as a tourist attraction.

Gianna stopped and stood still. She stood in a very feminine posture, her left hand resting on her hip. She had her black purse hanging from her right shoulder. She looked around, almost like she was searching for someone. Nihlus came to a stand-still next to her.

"What do we do now, that we're here? Why don't we go and look out a window?" Nihlus asked, using his hand to try and nudge her further. Gianna turned, opened her purse and handed him a fifty dollar bill.

"Go do what you want with it." She patted him lightly on the back, sending him off into the mildly busy sky deck. In the meantime, Gianna continued to look around aimlessly.

Nihlus strayed from Gianna's stance and went to explore. First things first: He went and looked out the window. It didn't give him a very good view to look down but the panoramic scene of the entire city was amazing. The colors and the lights from all the streetlamps, nightclubs, and other skyscrapers that glowed other luminous colors. There wasn't a single building that reached the height that this one did. Nihlus backed up and scanned the area again. He spotted a glass area that hung out from the building. A glass floor!

He paced slowly across to the glass floor, watching for anyone who may cross in his path, so he didn't run into anyone. There were quite a few people. There were other Turians there, though not many. He neared the glass floor.

As he approached the glass floor, Nihlus slowed his pace down significantly, until he stepped onto the glass. From there on, he only just inched forwards as he looked down. From there, he could see the spirals of the building spiraling down. The bottom seemed to disappear into the distance as the glowing trim of the building narrowed significantly. The streetlamps down below were mere specs due to the sheer height of the building. It would be a terrifying ordeal if the glass broke. Luckily, it was reinforced, though it wasn't apparent, intended to give a dangerous feeling to whomever dares to step onto the glass.

"Nihlus?"

Nihlus swung around upon hearing a recognizable male voice. He could pick out the distinct flange in the sound. It was Saren. Those glowing blue eyes staring back at Nihlus. Saren didn't look all too pleased.

"Saren! Where on this planet have you been?" He tried to hug the sliver Turian in front of him but was lightly shoved back.

"I've been trying to avoid all that breathes. And then I find you. Not necessarily a bad thing, but indefinitely not a good thing."

"How so?"

"This is exactly why. You've ruined our chance of returning home. Now, with this time and primitive technology, we're damned here for the time that we are living. I've scoured the area. There is no going back, all thanks to a special someone I know."

"Well, I'm okay here; I don't have to worry about any reapers or going to work again, as much as I like being a Spectre."

"How are you surviving? Are you leaching off of someone else?" Saren's question struck Nihlus down. Nihlus hated being told that he could not support himself or being labeled as 'needy' or dependant. And right now he was depending on a Human female for life, not being fit or meeting the requirements for work on this planet in this time. And Nihlus knew he would be in bad standing with Saren if he found out Nihlus was not only being dependant, but dependant on a human female. Nihlus knew how much Saren hated humans. Nihlus thought he didn't have a good reason for doing so.

"I'm managing it. I found a small place." Nihlus misinformed. "How are YOU taking care of yourself?"

"That doesn't concern you. You should not ask your former mentor these questions, only ones that apply to your ability and your job." Saren forewarned causing Nihlus to stop articulating.

Gianna spontaneously appeared behind Nihlus singing something in a moderately high voice:

Salvaci dai pericoli

Salvaci dal male

Salvaci dalla morte

Salvaci da inferno

Dio ci protegga

Si prega di non farmi cadere nelle mani del diavolo

Nihlus swung around. "What are you saying?"

"Tell me who that is and I'll tell you what I was saying." Gianna tried making a deal. She figured that she would find out who he was talking to rather than just keeping her secret until she got what she wanted.

"Why?"

"'Cause".

"Just a friend." Gianna watched as Saren rolled his eyes and walked off. Nihlus tried to pull Saren back but he had already disappeared into the rest of the building.

"Now, what was it that you were saying earlier?" Nihlus turned himself completely to face Gianna.

"It's just an Italian prayer that my mother taught me when I was younger. It means 'Save us from danger, save us from evil, save us from death, save us from hell, protect us God, please don't let me fall into the hand of the devil'. She taught me shortly after my father died. That's how she says it."

"Oh, that sounds cool. You must be quite religious then, are you?" Gianna slowly inched her way closer to Nihlus, so it would be unnoticeable. She didn't come awkwardly close, however.

"Yeah, I am, most Italians are very religious. I have various Roman Catholic religious articles around my house. You'll see them; I've got a few crucifixes hanging around, pictures of Jesus Christ and the Holy Mother Mary."

Nihlus nodded his head in response and Gianna smiled for a few seconds, fixated on Nihlus' emerald eyes, then she bowed her head down and looked out towards the glass floor. She looked around for something, Nihlus couldn't guess what, until she found it. It was a glowing button on the wall next to the glass floor area. Overtop of it in glowing blue letters, wrote 'Sound Effects'. She pressed it.

"Nihlus. Go onto the glass floor." Gianna ordered, a smirk outlined her face.

Nihlus complied. "Okay, I was just on it-Whoa! What the fu-!" Nihlus was surprised. When he stepped on the glass, it made a cracking noise. He couldn't see any cracks in the glass below him, but the sounds made it apparent. He quickly stepped off. Gianna was laughing profusely at this point.

"It gets a lot of people. It's always funny when they haven't been on the glass floor before!" She laughed on.

"You mean-it wasn't real! That's cruel! That scared the hell out of me!" Nihlus chuckled a little as well just as he completed his sentence.

"Of course it isn't real! If it were, it would be much worse! I wouldn't want you to die, I want…Never mind."

"Never mind…What? What were you going to say?" Nihlus questioned, being nosy.

"I wasn't going to say anything." Gianna refused to give an answer. She seemed really embarrassed to Nihlus, the cheeks on her face were reddening.

"Yeah you were, but you decided not to. Please, I want to know. I know us Turians aren't normally pushy like this, but I am, so please tell! Don't be ashamed of it."

Gianna turned her head down. From the expression Nihlus could vaguely pick out she didn't exactly look happy. She looked mildly upset. He placed his hand on her back.

"What's wrong? You seem upset. Is there something bothering you?" He asked, making an attempt at consoling her.

"It's nothing, I'm fine." Gianna tried to hide the look, unsuccessfully.

"No, you're not fine. Did something happen? Is someone bothering you?"

"No, it's…Or I mean nothing or no one is bothering me, it's…It's"

Nihlus allowed his presence to come close.

"What is it?" He pressed on.

"It's…I wanna…" Gianna sighed. "I don't know how to word this. It's so weird. You'll probably hate me for saying this, but…"

"It's okay, you can tell me. You don't have to worry, no one is going to mock or ridicule you. I won't either, you're my friend."

Gianna sighed again. "It's sort of that. I want…To be more than…'Just friends'. I want to be with you, kiss you, hug you, I don't know. It's more than an attraction. Even though we've only known each other for some little time, I've always felt strongly about you. You're handsome! And you were always kind to me. All from the first time you talked to me. I've felt some kind of connection. I just feel so ashamed of it." She admitted. She hid her face even more.

Nihlus was startled. He didn't know how to handle this. He had no previous experiences, especially since he didn't feel any love or romance towards Gianna. He just didn't feel normal about it. He didn't even know if he should let her down slowly or just give it out that he didn't feel the same way. She felt shameful for her love for him; he didn't want to make her feel worse.

"Gianna…I don't know…What to say. It's…Surprising. I wasn't expecting. I can't believe that I'm saying this, and I don't want to hurt you, but…" Nihlus could hear tiny whimpers coming from Gianna. He removed his hand from her back. "But I just don't feel the same way for you. I'm sorry." Her whimpers became more apparent as she looked up. Her tears hadn't started to flow yet, but it was expected that they would sometime soon.

"Are we still friends?" Nihlus asked, slightly concerned.

Gianna made a slight noise as if she had begun to cry and proceeded to push past Nihlus lightly and rush towards the elevator. Nihlus was left to stay and think about what he had said. He watched as Gianna entered the elevator and pressed some buttons and the door closed. Then she was gone.

Nihlus thought of many things over the course of several minutes. What would have happened if he had said that he loved her too? What if he did love her back? What if he had said he loved her and Gianna didn't? There were so many other things. He still didn't have deep feelings for her, but he started to really care for her. Maybe, he should go back and find her? That's when Nihlus realized something important.

Perhaps she had left the building and went home. Where would Nihlus stay? It wouldn't be likely she'd allow him back into her home. He couldn't even get back to her house, it was dark, he wouldn't be able to find it and it would take too long anyway. Nihlus, upon thinking of it, immediately set out to see if Gianna was still here. And see if he could make things any easier on her.

He paced himself towards the elevator, and impatiently pressed the button and waited for the elevator to meet Nihlus at the 172nd floor. He waited, thinking of what he would say. How would he make things easier? He would definitely question on their whereabouts of him staying at her house.

The elevator doors slowly opened up for him to enter, with Nihlus doing so quickly. He remembered Gianna's choice in the parking garage level: Underground Level Number 2. He selected the number on the elevator's keypad. The doors closed and immediately the elevator issued a warning for how fast it was and sooner than later, it whisked away, counting several floors per second. In a few minutes, the elevator brought Nihlus down to the parking garage floor Gianna had parked her car. The elevator quickly yet quietly opened it's doors to allow Nihlus to exit. He stepped out.

He slowly peeked around the parking garage, looking upon rows of cars, remembering Gianna had parked her car in a corner or close to one. He quietly walked along, first walking right.

He slowly walked along examining parked cars in their separate glowing stalls. He had walked for a couple of minutes now, until he came upon the sight of Gianna's dark red Dacia car. He approached it, seeing no one inside the car. He continued forwards until he saw her – she sat before her car against the wall. Her long white gloves were sprawled on the glossy black ground. From what Nihlus could tell, she had many scars on the undersides of her forearms. And it appeared that she was making a new incision on her arm with a small razor. Nihlus was shocked and startled. He was so surprised and scared to see Gianna dragging the razor down her arm creating a red and badly bleeding wound.

"What are you doing?" Nihlus rushed to her aid. Before he reached her, Gianna dropped the razor and looked up at Nihlus with a terrified look on her face. She placed her other hand she was using to cut herself onto the floor. In front of the injured arm, there was a small pool of crimson blood.

When Nihlus reached Gianna, he quickly wrapped one arm around her body and pulled her near while he used the other to hold her injured arm and inspect the wound. She quickly was reduced to tears again, having not resisted.

"Why were you doing that?" Nihlus asked surprised and worried.

"I deserved it. I'm not adequate. No one likes me, besides, it takes the pain of rejection away from me."

Nihlus was shocked. He didn't know what to say. Was this because he rejected her? Nihlus thought so. He felt awful.

"We need to get you to see a doctor. They can to fix this wound." Nihlus announced matter-of-factly. He swiftly yet gently scooped Gianna up into his arms after opening the passenger side of her car and placed her in the vehicle. Gianna handed him her car's keys and Nihlus quickly walked around the car and sat in the driver's seat, taking some time to find the ignition. He started the car, figured around the reverse and backed up. He was capable of piloting a sky car back in his day, so it wasn't too hard to figure out how to drive.

"I don't need help! I always just leave it and it's fine." Gianna complained, trying to cover up her self-inflicted wound.

"That's really deep. I've seen some injuries like that in my time and that is not going to go untreated. You've already bled lots. I don't want you to die of hypovolemia."

"In your time? What do you mean by…th-that?"

"Never mind that, just concentrate on blocking the wound, and make some sort of tourniquet if you can."

Gianna never made an attempt at stopping the bleeding.

With some direction, Nihlus got the car out of the parking garage in the Xenon Tower and was headed off in the direction of the nearest hospital. He had to follow the rules of the road – he was assisted by Gianna who told him what to do and what not to do. In several minutes, they came upon a tall hospital building.

Nihlus legally parked in front of the building with other cars. He shut the engine off, grabbed the keys from the ignition and handed them to Gianna who then pocketed them slowly and hesitantly. Nihlus rushed out his door, basically jumped over the hood of the vehicle, and opened the passenger door of the car. He picked Gianna up in his arms, closing the car door with his foot. He then quickly carried her through the automatic doors of the hospital. From there, he received immediate attention from medical staff at the hospital. Only then did Nihlus realize how fast Gianna was bleeding and how pale she had turned. And how much of his outfit was now bloodstained. She was responsive, but just barely.

"What happened for her to sustain such an incision?" One of the male nurses asked Nihlus as he instructed a couple other nurses to get a stretcher.

"When I saw her, she was intentionally cutting her arm open. I don't know exactly why she did it." Nihlus explained as he looked deep into the long and deep wound. He had no clue how she could do such a thing. Nihlus always looked at the potential humans had. This didn't seem normal to him and it made him worry, especially the severity of the injury. Turians weren't known for having feelings and thoughts of suicide, however, humans are known for this. Perhaps, maybe Gianna was trying to bleed herself out right there in the most undignified place? She certainly told him that she deserves the worst of anything, in a way. She probably felt that she was unworthy of a respected death. But the part that got to Nihlus the most was the fact that she actually wanted herself dead or at least in pain.

The same male nurse snapped his fingers in front of her face, and shone a flashlight into her closed eyes by lightly peeling them open. There was no response from the first test and just barely from the second. She was quickly dying.

Nihlus neared his face to Gianna's and whispered. "Gianna, if you can hear me, please don't die. You deserve better than this." He then retreated his face back. Her breaths were short, quick and faint.

Nihlus looked up and without even realizing it; he had been following a few nurses while carrying Gianna. There apparently weren't any stretchers that were available for their use. They were rushing along to an elevator which opened when they approached. They entered fast.

"Intensive Care Unit!" The male nurse shouted out in the elevator. The doors closed quickly and instantly, after a quick warning, the elevator was blasting upwards at close to twenty floors per second. In about six seconds, they had reached the 87th floor, where the intensive care unit was located.

The nurses and Nihlus were greeted by a couple of human doctors, one male, one female when the doors flew open. They immediately gestured for them to follow and after doing so, Nihlus and the other nurses began rushing without hesitation. Through corridors and hallways they were led until they met a privatized room that was adorned with medical equipment, much more than a regular hospital room.

The male nurse instructed Nihlus to place Gianna down on the bed.

One of the female nurses then calmly approached Nihlus.

She politely began to speak.

"Have you accidentally ingested any of the blood?"

Nihlus looked her up and down irritably. "Look, I don't care about what happens to me, just get her all fixed up."

"We are going to do the very best we can possibly do. Now, if you feel nausea, headaches, lightheadedness, or any other abnormalities, please take a small dose of this antidote here." She handed Nihlus a small medical bottle of a clear liquid. "And for heaven's sakes, get yourself cleaned up, there is restrooms with showers on the 40th to 60th floors." She then directed him out of the room where she remained. There was a window between Nihlus and Gianna, but there were covers on the wall which prevented him from seeing her and what treatments they were running on her.

Signs were beginning to show of how upset Nihlus had been as he headed to the elevators. He easily kept from allowing tears to show, but the scowl on his face was evident. And Turian emotions are hard to read.

He reached the elevator and it opened as soon as it detected his presence. He entered slowly and solemnly and pressed a random button where he was directed to be, which was between the 40th and 60th floors. It very quickly transported Nihlus there, to the 53rd floor where he stepped out and looked left and right and straight ahead for any signs telling him where to go. He headed right as directed by a sign that said 'Showers' that hung from the ceiling. He walked past nurses, patients, and other people visiting loved ones.

He even passed a grieving mother and father; the mother was Human and the father was a Turian. Nihlus slowed down to see what was going on. He saw the Turian father consoling his human wife outside a hospital room and watched as doctors rolled a stretcher out with a small figure covered in white sheets on it. Both parents were openly crying. In an instant Nihlus knew what it was.

Nihlus came upon the shower areas and entered. It was empty; he was the only living being inside. He surveyed his clothing. A good portion of the lower torso of his shirt was bloodstained. He touched it with his right hand and looked at the blood on his hand. It was redder than ever. Nihlus felt as if it was his fault that Gianna was in this mess and now she is in grave danger. He didn't even know if she was still alive at this point or if she was going to make it for that matter. He badly wanted for her to live. For him, it was almost like it was a dream, an awful chimera that wouldn't allow him to awake from. When he was working as a Spectre, the death of anyone who he was trying to protect was something he never got used to. This was even worse.

But all he could do now was wait. Nihlus decided to just grab a towel from the shelf next to a few showers and take a shower completely clothed. He would hate it, but it would have to be done.

#

Nihlus came out of the shower, soaking wet, drying off his expensive clothing with the towel he got. It was uncomfortable. He pulled back the curtains and on the bench before him in his stall was a complete outfit all laid out for him. It was grey and black with a dark red trim around the clothing. There was a piece of paper on top of the shirt. Nihlus walked out of the shower and picked up the piece of paper with his wet gloves. It read:

'These are for you. They cost me good money, don't wreck them.

-Saren'

Saren? How did he know about what happened? Or was it just a coincidence? Nihlus didn't care; his current clothes were still stained, wet and uncomfortable. He stripped of all his clothing and tossed them over the second shower curtain that separated him from the open. That's when he noticed the blood had soaked through and stained his semi-hard plating on his lower torso. He wasn't too pleased to find that the water hadn't erased it completely. He didn't care all too much, he just wanted to see how Gianna was at this point, so he soaked the towel in the shower and rubbed all of the Human blood off, snuck out of his showering bay and took another towel to dry off with, then went and changed into his new clothing that he found. Nihlus didn't even notice Saren come in. The shower curtains were by no means transparent, so he couldn't see through. And since Nihlus was so absorbed in cleaning the blood out of his clothes, he didn't hear anyone come in.

Maybe Saren did care? That didn't matter to Nihlus at the moment, all he cared about was seeing Gianna and making sure that she knew he was there. He finished dressing so he would be presentable in the hospital and continued on to the elevator so he could be with (Or at least try to be with) Gianna in the Intensive Care Unit.

Up in the elevator he went, very quickly to the top floor where Gianna might still be. Nihlus stepped out of the elevator and turned left, the same left he took when he was carrying her. He walked on, looking at all the doors, checking to see if the next was the one.

"I'm sorry but you can't be here right now." A polite human female nurse spoke to Nihlus with a slight smile on her face.

"Oh, I have a friend who's up here, can I go and see her?" Nihlus asked innocently, his heart beginning to race.

"You'll have to wait outside of the ICU area below the eightieth floor. You'll be able to have her called sometime later and if she's okay, then she will come looking for you."

"That's the thing. The doctor's don't know our names yet. They didn't get a chance to ask." Nihlus looked down.

"Well…I guess I can make an exception. Follow me and we can go find the room that she's being treated in." The nurse turned around and allowed Nihlus to lead the way. He watched every door, through the little windows in the doors that he'd never noticed before. He continued on farther and farther into the hospital with the nurse tagging along behind him.

"This is it." Nihlus stopped in front of the door Gianna was in. Nihlus watched through the small thin window as doctors checked pulse, probed her with needles and stitched up her wound.

"Alright, I'm going to have you give me your full name and I am going to give them your name so you can be called in to see her when she's ready."

"Why can't I just go in right now?" Nihlus asked, pleading.

"It's the rules. I didn't make them, I can't change them or get them changed. Besides, it's for safety reasons. I'm not trying to be racist."

Nihlus nodded in compliance, though the way he looked at her there was a hint of defiance in him. "Nihlus Kryik."

She wrote it down on a piece of paper. Nihlus almost laughed at it, he thought it was funny that PAPER was still being used. Why not just an electronic device?

"I'll be sure that she gets to you when she is fine. In the mean time, take this hospital cell phone, so we can contact you if you are not at the hospital." She handed him a simple flip-phone and a charger for it.

Nihlus smiled sarcastically by spreading his mandibles and slightly showing his teeth and turned and walked off, this time he was leaving the building.

He left the building and made a turn into an alleyway. He couldn't contain himself any longer. As much as he knew in Turian culture it is dishonorable to cry but he couldn't help it. He quietly began to sob, placing his right hand on his forehead.

Nihlus felt a hand on his back, causing him to look at whomever it was that touched him. It was Saren again. He didn't have the normal uptight look on his face. This time, it was one of concern, something Nihlus had never seen before and never thought he'd ever see. Nihlus turned himself around completely to stand face-to-face with Saren. Their faces only sat a few inches apart.

Nihlus took the hint and Saren actually embraced him comfortingly, allowing Nihlus to do the same. Nihlus placed his face into Saren's shoulder and continued to weep.

"I understand your circumstances." Saren calmly whispered.

"How? How do you know what's been going on?" Nihlus whimpered, bringing his face up so he could look Saren in the eye.

"I have been staying near you and that woman ever since you arrived at that building. I am fully aware that I make it seem like I don't care. But that's not true. I don't want you to feel that way. I do care about you. I care about you a lot and I wouldn't let anything happen to you. I am sympathetic for you and that woman; I know you care for her deeply. If you need anyone to talk to, you can always come to me for help. You don't know how much I do care for you."

Nihlus searched Saren's eyes for a few seconds. He sniffled once very lightly.

"I thought I'd never hear words of comfort coming from you. I always thought you'd kill me first." Nihlus jokingly chuckled quickly and silently. Saren didn't say a word and for the first time in a very long time, Nihlus had seen a smile illuminate on Saren's face. Nihlus placed his head back down on Saren's shoulder, this time, it was mandible to mandible.

Saren brought himself out of the hug and Nihlus in a compensating fashion did so too.

"There is a tranquil park nearby with quiet places to talk. Come with me." Saren instructed, leading Nihlus out of the surprisingly clean alleyway and down a sidewalk with his hand around Nihlus' back. Sure enough, after four or five minutes of walking, they came upon a gigantic park. It was illuminated by lights that sat in the ground and lamp posts in key areas. Nihlus and Saren entered.

The park was quiet, except for the quiet chirping of grasshoppers and other insignificant nightly creatures. It was a very clean and pristine park; there was no one else in sight. Nihlus and Saren walked down a cobblestone path slowly, with Saren's arm still wrapped around Nihlus' back who walked along with him on his left. They continued to walk for several minutes until they were far from any road that passed by the park. Saren motioned for Nihlus to sit down in between a few large bushes. Nihlus did just so and Saren proceeded to place himself next to Nihlus. All was quiet, all was peaceful with the small exception of the mild traffic and a few whirrs of the EL trains that passed by.

"Nihlus" Saren sat to Nihlus' left.

"Yes?" Nihlus answered, scooting closer to Saren.

"Will you find it in you to forgive me for my despicable actions yesterday?"

"Of course. I'd never hold it against you." Nihlus reached his face over to gently nuzzle Saren's mandible. Saren didn't seem to object to it, so Nihlus gave him a little flick of the tongue.

"I've always known how much you loved me." Saren directed his eyes towards Nihlus but did not turn his head.

"I know you know. I hope there isn't anything wrong with that." Nihlus responded and nuzzled Saren's mandible again.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. You can always come to me for help or if you need to talk to someone." Saren placed his right hand around Nihlus and used his left to reach across and place it on Nihlus' right mandible and cheek. A small purr emitted from Nihlus' throat.

"I also know that deep down, you love that woman too. I don't mind, it's your choice, I won't be hurt by who you choose. I wouldn't mind if you chose both of us. But all I want right now is to be here with you right now and I want you to be happy, just for you to let go of your troubles and all that is stressing us out." Saren went on, causing Nihlus to pause.

"I…don't love her…"

"You do. I know you. If you hadn't loved her, you wouldn't have cried when I came to you. You wouldn't have been so pushy to see her when she went into the ICU. And you certainly wouldn't have comforted her the way you did back on the sky deck of that building. It's okay to love her. It's your choice in who you care about. You can't let anyone else dictate your choice and thoughts. Including me." Saren reassured, strangely. It wasn't like him to do this kind of thing. But maybe he has had a change of heart.

"I don't know. I love you, Saren, so much. But, yeah, I certainly do have feelings for her now too." Nihlus pressed his face against Saren's lightly and then released soon after. "I want us all to just be happy."

"But you can be." Saren took his turn to nuzzle Nihlus' mandible now too.

Moments passed by in silence as Saren and Nihlus watched the stars, the airplanes and gazed at the shining lights from the surrounding skyscrapers. Both then decided to lie down on their backs.

"Saren?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I…Love…You too." Saren hesitated a little bit, but in the end, he meant it. He really meant it.

#

The sun was bright in the city. It shone directly onto the park that held Nihlus and Saren as they cuddled together in the privacy of the bushes.

Nihlus awoke just after Saren did, who was now just lying down and watching the clouds. Nihlus, still half asleep, asked Saren a weird question.

"Saren?"

"Yeah?"

"Did we have sex last night?"

"…No…Where did you get that idea?"

"Hmm…Must've been a dream."

"Why? Do you want to?"

What Saren said shocked and surprised Nihlus all at once. It still, however, didn't feel awkward.

"No! I mean…If I had no one else, but you know…" Nihlus stuttered out, Saren watching without any expression.

"It's okay to have urges. We all do, and maybe, when you're ready, we can do it if you want." Saren reassured.

Nihlus lightly nodded his head. "Stress relieving activities are always welcome anytime."

"We can go back to my place right now if you want. It's not far. If you have to go back to the hospital, it will not take much time." Saren suggested, getting up and stretching out his legs at the same time.

Nihlus got up too, thinking about what Saren had said. Nihlus did need to let go of his stresses. Deep down, Nihlus knew Gianna would make it out okay, if she didn't, he would have been called already.

"What do you say?" Saren quietly asked as he held out a hand for Nihlus to get up. Nihlus gingerly accepted the help up.

"Well…Alright. Why not?"

"Okay now, let's go." Saren held out a hand for Nihlus to take. Nihlus accepted it and then they walked out of the park, hand in hand.

Nihlus and Saren took about twenty minutes to reach Saren's small apartment. It was a very small three room apartment (Not including the bathroom) but it was fully furnished and in all, very nice. It was on the 63rd floor of the apartment building. They entered.

"Not too shabby." Nihlus complimented, receiving no response from Saren, except for a pleased look.

"Would you like to have anything to drink?" Saren asked, heading into the small kitchen and opening the fridge.

"No thank you." Nihlus went and sat down on the couch in the living room that rested in front of a mid-sized ultra-thin OLED TV. "How did you get this place?"

"I quickly made a Turian friend who agreed to let me stay here. I didn't allow him to know of our current circumstances." Nihlus responded.

"I see."

Saren closed the fridge door after taking out a simple glass of water and gulping it down. Saren neatly placed the used glass into the sink in the kitchen. He then approached Nihlus on the couch and held out a hand for him.

"Are you ready? Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Saren asked Nihlus calmly as Nihlus placed his hand into Saren's.

"I'm ready." Nihlus came up from the couch and Saren led Nihlus into a bedroom that was just before the main entrance to the apartment.

"My friend gave me this room." Saren spoke as the two went into the room. Once they were both fully in the room, Saren closed and locked the door.

It was silent in the apartment, however, in that bedroom, it wasn't silent, but it wasn't noisy. The two Turians made small talk.

The two quickly and quietly began to undress until they were fully unclothed.

There was no sense of awkwardness in the air, it seemed completely natural, despite the fact that both were males.

Now that both Saren and Nihlus had completely undressed, it was time. It was Saren who made the first move. He approached Nihlus and placed a hand on the back of his head.

"Are you sure you still want to go through with this?" Saren calmly asked Nihlus.

"Yes, I'm sure." Nihlus said as he pressed his face against Saren's and placed both of his hands on the back of Saren's neck, and began to slowly rub his neck to the back of his head, prompting Saren to do the same, only with one hand while keeping the other fixated on Nihlus' waist.

This time, it was Saren who gave a flick of the tongue. He wiped it across Nihlus' mouth and mandibles giving a pleasuring feeling. He brought his blue tongue down to Nihlus' neck to further the pleasure.

Nihlus moved one of his hands from the back of Saren's head to Saren's mandible, so he could caress the side of his face. The feeling of Saren's face against Nihlus' hand was rough, yet it had a bit of smoothness to it. It however, was rougher than what it normally should be, probably from how uptight Saren has always been.

It didn't take long. In no time, both their blue full lengths were exposed and ready. Saren hauled Nihlus onto the bed playfully.

#

Both now rested under the covers of the bed, which were very soft and incredibly inviting. Saren remained snuggled against Nihlus, this time letting go of his general dominance so that for once he didn't have to control, also considering how Saren was slightly smaller than what Nihlus was. He slept soundly, with Nihlus just barely awake to smile at what he kept in his arms. It was good to finally see Saren with a sense of comfort lingering on him. Saren even exchanged his usual bitterness for a sense of genuine pleasure, both physically and mentally.

Saren's breaths were light, slow and deep. Nihlus watched in quiet peace as Saren slept undisturbed, cuddled up to Nihlus' side and an arm wrapped around Nihlus' torso. Nihlus kept one hand underneath Saren's body for support and the other calmly placed over top of him to keep him close. Saren had the top of his head buried into Nihlus' face, a calming position for both. It was silent with the shy exception of the light wind blowing in through an open window in the bedroom. The air that blew in was warm and soothing.

Nihlus looked over Saren to see the alarm clock on the other side. It was 7:21 in the morning. It had just then occurred to Nihlus that they had easily and quickly slept through the night after what was done throughout the early through late day. Did Saren's friend come in while they were sleeping? No, he couldn't have, the door was locked. Just then, Nihlus felt Saren stirring in his arms.

"You awake yet?" Nihlus quietly whispered. Saren groaned lightly.

"I am now that you are." Saren replied just as quietly, reaching a hand to touch Nihlus' face before placing it back down around Nihlus' torso again.

"Do you want to come up here so I can see your beautiful face?" Nihlus lightly tugged on Saren to try and coax him to come up to rest his head on the pillow. Saren complied and moved up. Now his face was in full view. They quickly touched their foreheads together.

The phone given to Nihlus by the nurse at the hospital loudly began to ring. It's sound penetrated the air suddenly that it gave Nihlus a little bit of a start. He quickly swung himself around to face the other side where the nightstand beside the bed was, that held the phone. Nihlus pressed the green answer button on the front and put it up to the side of his head.

"Hello?" Nihlus answered. Saren put his arm back around Nihlus again.

"She's awake. She wants to talk to you. You can come and find her in room 60271 on the 60th floor." A male voice spoke through the earpiece with the distinct flange in his voice.

"Really?" Nihlus moved to wedge from Saren's grip. "Alright, I'll be there!" Nihlus quickly sat the phone back on the nightstand, jumped up from the bed and quickly began to dress up again, though slowed down by the spurs on the back of his legs.

Saren slowly began to get up. "Where are you going?"

"Gianna's awake, I've gotta go see her at the hospital. You coming?"

"I've got other things I need to do. I'd like to come, but I can't."

"Okay. I'll see you later."

"You know you can always come to me if you are feeling troubled." Saren reminded Nihlus as he finally stood up, naked as a jay bird, his full length still exposed, as was Nihlus', however not aroused. Nihlus finally managed to get his pants on and rushed to put his top back on too, which, in the end went much quicker than the pants.

Nihlus finished getting his shirt on, snatched up the phone and pocketed it. He ran out of the bedroom and went to open the front door which was a few steps from their bedroom door, but was stopped short by Saren, who then pulled Nihlus into a quick, yet effective and loving embrace. When they let go, they both nodded to one another and Nihlus was off. He rushed to the elevator, not even noticing that Saren's friend still wasn't there.

Nihlus entered the elevator and quickly set it for the ground level, which it rushed Nihlus down. It seemed to take ages though for Nihlus considering the fact that he was on edge right now. He darted out of the elevator as soon as it had opened, and rushed through the mildly populated lobby for the tall apartment tower, arousing only minor attention.

He bolted out the main revolving doors to find that it was now pouring rain outside. The temperature was now much cooler than what Nihlus was used to, and so he quickly began to shiver mildly. But that didn't stop him, Nihlus continued to run as fast as he could to the hospital which was noticeably faster than the average human.

Because of the very heavy rain, there were very few pedestrians, and those who were out walking carried umbrellas and walked at a faster pace or jogged at a slower one. However, Nihlus ran and didn't carry anything to guard him from the showering water. It only aroused minor attention.

A voice sharply came from in front of Nihlus. "Hold it!" Nihlus stopped in response. He saw a male human police officer coated in a dark blue rain vest and a black rain cap on his head. He held a hand out to stop Nihlus from venturing on any further. His rain coat had thin light blue strips along the side.

"Why are you in such a rush?" The police officer politely asked. Nihlus almost came back with 'I'm a Spectre, you're below me' but he realized that this wasn't the galactic times anymore. It was much earlier than that, and it would not work for Nihlus.

"My girlfriend…" Nihlus began to lie. "She's having a baby! I need to go. She's in the hospital just down there!" Nihlus pointed in the direction of the tall hospital building.

The police officer stepped back and put his hand down again. "Oh, well don't let me slow you down! And, congratulations!" The officer smiled, prompting Nihlus to smile back in return and run off to the hospital just across the street from where he stood.

Nihlus reached the crosswalk, running across with zero regards for what may be coming his way. Luckily for Nihlus, the light was red so there were no vehicles running across the intersection.

He continued running towards the hospital, turning slightly on the sidewalk so he could run up the large drive through parking area that led to the building's entrance and underground parkades. His reproductive organ had still hung out inside his pants, typical after intercourse for most Turians. And it was still very sensitive and was making running very tough for Nihlus without him ending up releasing again, it was very close. He could feel slight wet developing inside his pants from it readying itself for another safe flow of sperm. He definitely didn't want that, how inadmissible!

Nihlus slowed himself to a walk. He approached the main entrance and as he did so, the doors opened to greet him. He entered, seeing the busy main corridor. Nihlus walked through to find the elevators as he remembered the specific room number Gianna would be staying in: Room number 60271. He was then approached by another polite female nurse, this time she was a Turian.

"Excuse me sir, but could you please follow me to the secretary up ahead?" She asked kindly, leading Nihlus to the secretary desks that sat just ahead of the entrance. It was in the middle of two hallways that forked off into separate directions.

Nihlus followed, impatiently. He and the female Turian reached the main desk, and she walked around the large counter and plopped herself on her chair in her space on the counter, moving the mouse to wake the computer up.

"Would you be so kind as to tell us your name?" She asked.

"Why do I have to do this? There is someone I have to see right now!" Nihlus complained, feeling the temptation to run off to one of the hallways and to the elevator, but he noticed there were several security guards lingering around the area.

"Security reasons. Now please comply with the rules or I'll be forced to call security." Her politeness slightly decreased.

"Fine. The name is Nihlus Kryik." He grumbled. The secretary typed in his name into her computer.

"Ah yes, we've been expecting you. You are here to see Giovanna Lydia Aryanna Trimboli, am I correct?"

"Yes, this is correct. Is there anything else?"

"Yes, there is one more thing we need. We'll need to see some identification from you."

Nihlus froze instantly. No ID…Wait a minute…Nihlus had his Spectre's ID with him the entire time. He had been subconsciously switching it from outfit to outfit. Nihlus quickly reached into the right pocket in his pants. He sifted around, finding the small little keychain in his pocket. Nihlus pulled it out. It was a small piece of technology with a single button on it. It was used incase his Omni-tool wasn't functioning correctly. Nihlus pressed the small button and the full color holographic ID screen appeared. He showed it to the secretary, who didn't seem too surprised. She took it and examined the information quickly. Luckily, it didn't show the birth year, due to a minor damage in the case from when Nihlus accidentally dropped it during a mission. It didn't show any other information that would be suspicious of time.

"Alright. The elevators will be on your left in the left hallway." She handed Nihlus back his ID device as it turned off. Nihlus looked to the left corridor, noticing 15 elevators, all lined up neatly against the wall. Two human males walked into one elevator. Nihlus didn't even thank the secretary before walking off quickly to the elevator. That's okay, she didn't even wish him a nice day, but it didn't really matter all that much.

Nihlus approached a random elevator and it opened automatically, allowing him to step in. He did so and pressed the six and then the zero buttons on the elevator. The doors closed immediately and it issued a warning for it's speed, and then shot up the elevator shaft at a very high rate of speed. The motion was sending Nihlus' irritation much higher. If only he had gotten the call later. He now had to rush to the bathroom.

In a mere few seconds, the elevator reached the 60th floor of the building and the first thing Nihlus did was run out and look for the washroom. He was ready to discharge everything in his seminal vessels and he was going to do it quickly and instantly. Not wanting to wreck the inside of his pants or end up doing it uncontrollably in front of Gianna, his best bet was to race to the washroom. He held his crotch as he ran to the washroom, unbeknownst that it was actually making it worse.

For Nihlus, the washrooms never seemed to appear, of course during a time like this. He looked in all directions, the feeling in his lower regions getting stronger. He was in the middle of the hallway, nurses, doctors and patients passing by, unnoticing of Nihlus' current situation. He stood and stopped, surveying the area for any washrooms.

"Excuse me sir, are you alright?" A small, frail old human woman appeared and tapped Nihlus on his back. Nihlus didn't move.

"Bathrooms!" He didn't even turn around. The old lady pointed directly beside him. Sure enough, there were the men's washrooms. Right beside him, now made visible by the lady's hand. He ran in, ready to burst. Nihlus passed the walls that made doors for the washrooms unnecessary. The first thing Nihlus looked at when he made it into the washroom was the first urinal that his eyes came across. As he moved quickly over to the first one, he began unzipping the fly for his pants, setting loose the sensitive part instantly. He reached the urinal and pointed it in. From thereon, everything else happened on it's own. Luckily there was no one else in the washroom. The moans that emitted from Nihlus were consistent, though not loud enough to arouse attention.

When everything was finished, a sense of relief had flooded Nihlus' body. That would have been awful in other circumstances. The last bit left his body and all was fine, the sensitivity wouldn't be back for a good several hours. Too bad it wouldn't go back into hiding for a little less than a full day and part of the night. But at least now Nihlus could get this past and go see Gianna who probably by now was in the hospital bed dying.

He zipped his fly back up again and ran out of the washroom. He recited the room number repeatedly in his head: '60271, 60271'. He made a left turn as soon as he made it out of the washroom. His run slowed to a quick walk as he looked at doors both to his left and his right. He read the numbers aloud.

"60269, 60270, 60271!" Nihlus made a sharp turn and as he approached the door, he slowed down significantly. He stopped just before the door, debating with himself on whether or not he wanted to open the door or not. The window beside the door that would lead into the room had their curtains open, allowing Nihlus to see Gianna through the window talking to a nurse beside her. She laid on the bed, most of her color returned to her. Her arms were not covered by blankets, and therefore Nihlus could see the stitches on her arm. It was a long incision she had made on her arm. He didn't notice that she had made other smaller ones as well that were now stitched up. It was painful to think how she possibly could have done something like this - Just because of him.

Nihlus made the decision that he wanted to enter, so he went to knock on the door, hesitating a little. The distinct sound of his gloved knuckles lightly rapping on the door brought him back to his senses. The door swung open. The nurse that had been talking to Gianna just a few seconds ago was at the door to greet Nihlus.

"Have we been expecting you?" The female nurse spoke. Before Nihlus had the chance to respond, Gianna blurted out from the bed that was behind the nurse.

"Yes, I have been expecting him." She divulged out.

The nurse nodded lightly and moved aside to allow Nihlus to enter. In doing so, Nihlus walked forwards and sat on the chair on the right side of the bed (Where Gianna's right side was) and gingerly took her hand in his and cupped it in both his hands.

"You are so lucky to be alive right now. I can't believe how lucky you are." Nihlus went on. "I thought you were going to die. You bled lots. But I'm glad you're still alive." Nihlus noticed the little bag of red blood hooked into Gianna's arm, dripping additional blood into her body.

"Well, I'm not dead yet. The doctors kept on going on about how lucky I was. They told me I should go for some counseling. I think I might, but after what happened, I think I deserved it."

Nihlus felt the pain in his chest due to being startled from what she said. "You – Deserved it?" She nodded.

Nihlus lowered his head and sighed. "You didn't deserve it. The way I see it, no one deserves to suffer. Not even you. It's sad…To know that Humans can have thoughts of suicide or self-harm."

"What? Do Turians not get those feelings?" She replied, softly.

"No. It just doesn't happen. It's really an awful feeling knowing that any Human can do something like that, especially if they have someone who really cares about them." Nihlus put specific emphasis on the word cares.

Gianna remained silent until she found the words she meant to say. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize what I was doing…Until it was too late. It's just that…I've done it many times before and I was just fine. Nobody did anything to stop me and that only made me feel worse. But when you came to my aid, which I didn't expect, I was startled, and it made me feel like someone else out there actually _cared_ about me."

The nurse then began to gently wrap some gauze around Gianna's stitches so they wouldn't get ripped out.

"Why didn't anyone try to stop you?" Nihlus replied.

"I guess…No one saw me doing it."

The nurse finalized the wrap on Gianna's arm and cut the gauze off the rest of the roll, and placed a bit of medical tape on it that would stick until it was pulled off. It would be necessary.

Nihlus then made a decision: He lowered his face down while lightly bringing Gianna's hand up. He revealed it from his other hand and pushed his blue tongue out just a smidgen and slowly pressed it to her hand.

Gianna giggled for less than a second. "You're supposed to kiss the girl's hand." Her face lit up with a smile. Nihlus brought his head up so he could listen. His mandibles were spread in a Turian smile.

"Teach me how to kiss." Nihlus asked calmly.

Gianna asked the nurse to help her sit up, and the nurse did. She gently pulled her up, who used her unscathed arm to push the rest of herself up.

Gianna then used both her hands to reach over and very lightly press her hands against Nihlus' mandibles and imperceptibly lured Nihlus' face closer. She reached her face over as well.

Soon, their faces were close. Gianna could detail every bit of Nihlus' emerald eyes and his face. His surprisingly gentle face.

"This is how you kiss." She breathed suggestively, causing the nurse to leave the hospital room temporarily.

She furrowed her lips ever so quaintly, which made Nihlus attempt to do something similar. It didn't appear like hers, due to the Turian structure but it was good enough for Nihlus. They inched their faces closer until her lips met his.


End file.
